But Uncle Tony!
by Pikapegasus
Summary: All six year old Maggie Rogers wants is to play with her uncles' cool stuff while her parents are on a mission. However, due to death threats from said parents and a sense of right from wrong, Tony and Clint refuse her requests. Implied Romanogers. NOW A SERIES OF ONE-SHOTS, full of family fluff. Jumps all over the place chronologically. Marked as complete, but still updated.
1. But Uncle Tony!

**A/N:** So I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier today and ohhhh my gosh I LOVED IT SO MUCH! It was epic and the plot was fantastically executed! Kudos to you, Marvel!

A major effect the movie had on me was my Marvel ships... I now am a die hard fan of Romanogers (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow x Steve Rogers/Captain America). I really like the contrast between their characters. Yah.

Anyway, I didn't feel like writing some epic romance fic or anything, so I thought, "What if they had a child together?" and this oneshot was born! Read on to see what happens when I write something out of pure randomness and boredom.

* * *

"Uncle Tony, can I use your suit _today_?"

Tony Stark groaned and ran a hand over his face as he was met by the blue eyed, fiery haired girl with the same question for the millionth time.

"No, kid, you're not old enough and your parents would kill me if they found out I let you use it!"

"But Uncle Tony!" The girl protested.

"But Maggie!" Tony mimicked with exaggerated emphasis and a high pitched voice.

"I don't sound like that!" The redhead pouted, before giving the billionaire an attempted glare, causing the latter to burst out in laughter.

"Okay, kid, _what_ are you doing with your face?"

"I'm trying to use the look Mama does when she's mad at you, just like I am now!" The six year old explained with another pout.

Tony managed to stop laughing at the Black Widow mini-me and sighed, still smiling. "Sorry, kid, but your parents made it very clear that if I ever let you play with my stuff, they'd throw me out of the tower, through those windows over there." He said, gesturing to the large glass panels across the room which had been repaired since the Battle of New York several years ago.

"Fine." Maggie sighed, her baby blue eyes filled with defeat. She then lit up again, and called across the room, "Uncle Clint—!"

"Sorry, Mags, but your mom also told me you're not allowed to use my bow and arrow." Clint Barton cut the young girl off, knowing the request already because he, too, had been asked it millions of times.

Maggie sat, thinking, before calling out, "Jarvis, tell Uncle Brucie to come up here and play with me!" she ordered, trying to be like her billionaire uncle. She then remembered what her father had taught her about manners, and quickly added, "Please!"

"_I am sorry, Ms. Rogers, but Dr. Banner is working on something very important and can't leave right now._"

"Can I borrow some super juice or something to make me turn into the Hulk, too?" The young girl tried excitedly.

"NO!" Clint and Tony both yelled, jumping to their feet.

The six year old dramatically threw herself back onto the couch with a huge sigh. "Is there anything I'm allowed to do in this tower?!" she groaned dramatically, causing Tony and Clint to smirk at each other in amusement.

"We could play a game." Tony suggested.

"Like what?"

"How about Go Fish?" Clint proposed. "Fun, simple, and easy."

Maggie considered it for a few seconds before replying, "Okay! But we hafta use my special Avengers cards!" she said excitedly, before running off to her room to retrieve her specially themed deck.

"The fact that that kid looks so much like her mother but is so silly and hyper always cracks me up." Tony commented while the girl was gone, turning to his babysitting partner.

"Damn right." Clint said with a laugh, before Maggie ran back into the room.

* * *

"_Sir, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Rogers are here._" Jarvis' voice sounded just as they finished their second game of Go Fish, with Maggie having won both games. "Mama and Daddy!" she yelled excitedly, jumping up from her seat and dropping her cards to the table.

"Alright, thanks Jarvis, send 'em up." Tony replied to the system, sighing in relief as he would be relieved of the babysitting duties he received while the two partnered Avengers were gone on a brief mission.

Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers barely had time to exit the elevator before their daughter tackled both of them, wrapping her arms around them tightly.

"Mama, Daddy, I missed you so much!" Maggie squealed happily.

"Hey, kiddo, we missed you, too!" Steve laughed as he hoisted his daughter up on his hip before leaving the elevator with Natasha by his side.

"Welcome back, Cap." Tony greeted his longtime friend happily as Clint greeted Natasha with a "Hey, Nat."

"Hey, guys, thanks so much for watching her." Steve thanked his two friends earnestly.

"No problem, she's my favorite niece in the world." Tony answered back.

"Uncle Tony, I'm your _only _niece in the world!" Maggie commented with a laugh.

"Therefore you are my favorite." Tony reasoned. "However, that also means your my least favorite when you're bad!" he warned, causing Maggie to stick her tongue out at him in reply.

"Speaking of which, were you good for Uncle Tony and Uncle Clint?" Natasha asked her daughter seriously, meeting the young girl's eyes after kissing her cheek.

Maggie giggled as her mother kissed her, before answering "Yes!" innocently. Steve handed her off to her mother, once again feeling overwhelmed with the love he felt for "his girls." Their daughter looked mostly like her mother, with the same hair color and curls, but she had gotten her father's blue eyes, making her what they believed was a perfect mix of the two. They had named her "Margaret" after Steve's longtime friend and lost love, Peggy Carter.

"Tony, Clint, you didn't let her do anything dangerous, did you?" Natasha asked, flashing her famous murderous glare to the two other Avengers in the room, pulling Steve from his thoughts.

"No, Sir—I mean, uh, Ma'am." Tony replied, fearing the assassin standing before him. Clint shared his fear, nodding in agreement.

"Good." Natasha said with a smile, before putting the young girl down. "Alright, you can come help me and Daddy unpack!" she offered playfully.

"Yuck!" The six year old replied, sticking her tongue out, but wanting to spend as much time as she could with her parents. She grabbed her mother's hand and then quickly grabbed her father's. "Come on, Daddy, I don't wanna unpack _all_ of your stuff! You have to help!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming, Maggie." Steve replied with a laugh, glancing over at Tony and Clint who were watching with amused faces, before following mother and daughter to their room.

"That kid sure does keep them on their toes." Clint commented with a laugh. Though he had been appointed as Maggie's godfather shortly after her birth, Tony did the most spoiling out of all the Avengers, causing the girl to believe the iron hero was the easiest to convince to do things.

"Tell me about it. If I didn't keep an eye on her at all times, she would manage to convince Jarvis to give her access to the suit and everything else I do." Tony said exasperatedly.

Just then, Maggie came bolting out of her parents' room, throwing herself into Tony's arms. "I forgot! Thank you for taking care of me while Mama and Daddy were gone!" she thanked her uncle with a kiss on the cheek, and then repeated the gesture with Clint before running off again.

"She sure does add some life to the tower though." Clint said with a smile as they heard her loudly ask her parents about their mission.


	2. Reality Check (and Author's Note!)

**A/N:** READ MEEEE

Wow! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows, guys! :D I'm so happy you enjoy this family fluff stuff. Some of you have asked for more, and believe me, I will give you more! However I am suffering a bit of writer's block right now, so this little mini one-shot may seem a bit off or abrupt DX This is so frustrating! AND I'VE BEEN TRYING TO UPLOAD THIS STORY FOR LIKE 12 HOURS (tried last night, went to bed, then tried again this morning XP) BUT THE WEBSITE IS BEING ALL GLITCHY :( I managed to upload it using the copy-and-paste method. Smh...

I decided to not try and force out a nicer length one-shot, but I also didn't want to just update this story with an author's note (no offense to people who do that, I completely understand that having to be the case usually in multi-chapter fics). So now we take a step backwards and see 4 year old Maggie after some drama. Oh, no!

In these one-shots, I am going to try to leave Steve and Natasha's relationship's status as vague as possible. Why? Well, so it can be up to you guys individually and personally if they should be married or not! For me, I like to think that they are married in this story, but I'm leaving it open so you guys can think whatever, since I'm not that good at writing romance anyway XD

Also! I've been looking at terms of endearment in Russian since ya know Natasha's Russian and well she has a child, aka someone to use a term of endearment on… And I really like "Лапушка," which can mean darling or sweetheart! I also really liked the pronunciation—la-poosh-ka! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! (Assuming that the website I used was correct in their translation/pronunciation, which I hope they are, 'cause it's a site that's supposed to help people learn Russian XP)

I also made a short Romanogers-themed picture music video (PMV); all the pictures are drawn by me! It's based on this really cute PMV to this cute love song, so I basically drew my own version with Natasha and Steve! You can check it out on my YouTube channel, which is listed on my profile with a link. :)

OH AND ONE MORE THING—the basic plot of Winter Soldier is referenced in this, at the very end (because little kids love story time) so if you still haven't seen it and want to go into that theatre without knowing anything about it, well, skip the last paragraph. XP

Ok, enough rambling, now on with the very short one-shot!

* * *

Natasha Romanoff sighed as she sat on the hospital bed, feeling a dull ache radiating from her left arm, which was in a sling. She had been shot in the arm on her latest mission, and was thankful it wasn't much worse. Now that she had a family, Natasha had something to prevent her from diving head first into missions and being reckless in the field.

The female Avenger looked up as she heard someone enter her room, and smiled when she recognized who it was.

"Hey, Nat." Steve said softly as he walked up to her bed, holding four year old Maggie in his arms. The small girl had her head buried in the space between her father's neck and shoulder; it had been there since she first heard of her mother getting hurt.

"Hey." Natasha replied tiredly, and scooted over, patting the now vacant spot on the bed with her head. Taking a hint, the Captain sat down with their child still clinging onto him for dear life. "

Is she okay?" Natasha asked, concerned, as the usually hyper and always talking Maggie was deathly quiet and had yet to show signs of seeing her mother for the first time in a few days.

"Ever since she heard you got hurt"—Maggie's arms tightened around her father at that—"she's been holding onto me like this." Steve explained quietly, before sighing. "Come on, Mags, don't you want to see Mama?"

Receiving no response, Natasha put a hand on her daughter's arm. "Hey, I'm okay, you don't have to worry, Лапушка." She tried softly, and soon found herself staring into tear-filled blue eyes, as Maggie turned to look at her.

"See? I'm okay." Natasha asserted gently, holding her good arm out to prompt a hug. Maggie complied and all but jumped into her mother's arms, crying.

"I was so scared when Daddy said you got hurt! I thought you would leave me… Like Anna and Elsa's parents!" The family of three had been going through an intense Disney phase, which had helped introduced the concept of death to the four year old as someone leaving forever. "I missed you so much and I thought I'd never see you again and that'd I be alone…"

As Maggie continued to sob and ramble, Natasha pulled her closer; she didn't know what to say, or what else she could do. She felt herself tearing up, prompting Steve to wrap his arms protectively around the two redheads he loved.

In times like these, Natasha wished she or Steve had the ability to promise their child they'd always be there for her. But with their job as protectors of the world, they couldn't. Suddenly something so simple became so complicated.

After Maggie's crying had calmed down to the occasional sniffle, Steve broke the hug and examined the two girls. Figuring Maggie was quite tired now, he proposed something he knew she loved. "Hey, Mags, wanna hear a story?" he asked, meeting his daughter's red and tired eyes. Maggie contemplated it for a bit, before nodding her head and quietly answering, "Okay."

"Here, let's get comfortable." Natasha proposed, lying back on the bed, snuggling her daughter up close on her side. "What kind of story do you want to hear, Лапушка?"

"A happy one, one about you and Daddy." Maggie requested innocently, looking up at her mother. Natasha and Steve both thought for a moment, before the former asked Maggie if she would want to hear about them falling in love. After receiving an enthusiastic "yes!" and agreement from Steve, they began telling their daughter a broad and watered down version of the time Hydra tried to take over Shield from the inside, forcing the two Avengers to work together and strengthen their relationship more than ever before.

* * *

**A/N:** Eh, I figured a good story for something romantic like that—that wouldn't be too mushy and boring for a 4 year old—would be the basic plot of Winter Soldier, since Natasha and Steve were together for a lot of that movie and had some really deep scenes.


	3. Easter Egg Hunt

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows again, guys! I love you all so much! :D I try to plot out these one-shots really well in my head first, so for any of you dudes who give me prompts, sorry if it doesn't come swiftly XD

I managed to crank this one out within the last two hours of Easter for you guys! Hope you like it and had an awesome Easter :) :D

* * *

"Oh, look, Maggie, over there! There's an egg!"

Natasha Romanoff excitedly pointed out a bright colored egg on the ground, just under a bush a few feet away, causing the almost three year old Maggie to happily toddle towards it.

In one hand, she was clutching her basket which held some eggs already. She used the other to pick up the pink egg. "Mama, look!" Maggie squealed happily.

"Yeah, Лапушка, you got it!" Natasha cheered her daughter on happily.

They were at a park they often brought Maggie to play at in DC; the small family lived in the country's capital, but often traveled to visit their "family" at Stark Tower in New York, especially if both parents were called on a mission, so they could leave Maggie with Tony and the others.

It was Palm Sunday—the Sunday before Easter. The Easter egg hunt had been planned by some of the mothers who frequent the park and everyone was invited to come. The two Avengers thought it would be a fun activity for their young daughter.

Natasha watched as Maggie ran off with some other little girls and boys, looking determined to find every single egg. She stood and followed from a distance, as she was always cautious when out in public with her daughter. After all, her career hasn't always had her in the safest position.

"How's Maggie doing?" Steve Rogers asked as he walked up next to Natasha. He had been talking to some of the other park-goers, who were, of course, fans of the legendary Captain America.

"She's doing well. I'm glad she gets to spend time with other kids and make friends; I was always worried about that because of our jobs and identities." Natasha said with a sigh.

"I know what you mean; I've always hoped for the best for her social life." Steve agreed. "I wasn't really prepared to be a parent when she came." He admitted.

Natasha nodded her head in agreement. The pregnancy hadn't been planned at all, it just happened. However, both Natasha and Steve had been determined to raise this child and protect her forever. The rest of the Avengers had been excited at hearing the news and felt the same love and determination.

"Daddy!" Maggie enthusiastically yelled as she ran up to her parents, specifically her father. "Look at all the eggs I found!"

"Wow, Mags, that's great! Good job, kiddo." Steve said, kissing the top of her head.

"Did you and the others find all the eggs?" Natasha asked, kneeling down on the ground to match her daughter's height.

"No, one of the moms said there are still some more that are really, really hard." The toddler explained. "So I told my friends I would get Captain America and Black Widow to help us find them!" Maggie explained excitedly, grabbing her parents' hands. Said superheroes barely had time to shoot each other looks of amusement and surprise before being dragged off towards the other kids.

"Okay, guys, I brought them!" Maggie announced excitedly.

"Are you really Captain America?" One kid loudly asked, walking up to Steve.

"Yes, I am—"

"Where's your shield?!"

"Can we see your shield?"

"Can you call Iron Man to come help us too?"

"What's it like to be a superhero?"

"Can _I _be a superhero and join the Avengers too?!"

Steve didn't know what to do as he was being bombarded with so many questions at once. Natasha had to hold in her laughter at the entire situation.

"Guys, I thought we were gonna find the rest of the Easter eggs!" Maggie cut in when there was a break in the questions; however, the curious kids continued.

"Does Maggie have superpowers, then?" One child pointed out as the rest shouted other questions.

"Alright, alright!" Steve finally shushed the toddler crowd. "No, I don't have my shield with me right now, sorry guys. Ton—Iron Man is busy working right now, up in New York. The other Avengers are also busy right now. And anyone can be a superhero; it just means being a good person and fighting for justice." He attempted to cover the grounds of every question asked, except the one about Maggie having superpowers.

The two Avengers weren't sure if their daughter would have powers or not, as they wondered if the super soldier serum Steve had been injected with so long ago would affect the young child. Maggie hadn't shown any signs of having powers or abilities yet, but Natasha and Steve often watched for something.

Before the kids could start up with questions again, Natasha cut in. "Where do you guys want Captain America and I to check for Easter eggs? We will help you find the rest and give them all to you." She offered.

The kids accepted the change in topic and ordered the two Avengers around the park for the next half hour. There was no leaf unturned as they checked every nook and cranny.

"Captain America, shake the tree, maybe eggs will fall out!"

"Black Widow, climb that tree and look for some!"

"Ooh, Black Widow, can you look on top of the roof of that building over there?" One child asked, pointing at a nearby bathroom.

"I don't think your guys' moms would be able to hide them up there, sweetie." Natasha said gently.

Eventually, they had lapped the park twice. The moms who had been watching on the sideline came to relieve the two superheroes of their Easter duties as they took their children back home for the day.

The tired family of three finally made it into their own car and Steve drove them out of the parking lot.

"Mags, did you have fun?" He asked as he drove.

"Uh huh!" Maggie answered and the parents heard the noise of plastic eggs being shuffled in the basket as the young girl looked through it.

"Are you going to share your candy with us?" Natasha asked, though she already had an idea of what the answer would be.

"No!" Maggie laughed in reply. "It's my candy!"

"We helped you find them, though." Steve teased lightly.

"Well, maybe." Maggie shrugged as she counted her eggs.

Natasha and Steve looked at each other, wearing bright smiles.

Oh yes, this was their life now, and they honestly wouldn't trade it for anything.


	4. The Spiders Never Bothered Me Anyway

**A/N: **So this one turned out kinda short compared to the others, with only about 740 words. Oops. xD

BUT IN MY DEFENSE, this idea/prompt came to me in a dream the other night. Like legit, in my dream, Natasha found a black widow in Maggie's bag after Maggie kept it in there; she loves black widows because her mom shares an alias with them. APPARENTLY THIS SHIP NEVER LEAVES ME ALONE? *Imagine Dragons music starts playing* _THE SHIPPING NEVER SLEEPS AT NIGHTTTTT... _Haha, music pun. :P

Sorry if the Cap or Black Widow ever seem OOC! I am not a superhero whisperer, and these oneshots are my first times writing anything using any characters from the Marvel universe. :O

THANKS FOR THE FAVES, REVIEWS, AND FOLLOWS! YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SQUEAL IN JOY *SQUEALS LOUDLY* From what I've seen, you Romanogers peeps are so nice and welcoming for a newbie like me! :3 GROUP HUG! *initiates the most epic group hug you will ever live to be part of* I'm also going to start posting these oneshots on my Tumblr! There's a link to my account in my profile/bio thing :D

Ok I'm good now. Enjoy this oneshot. And I got my spider info from Wikipedia XDDDDD

* * *

"Hey, I'm home." Natasha Romanoff called out happily, closing the front door behind her as she threw her keys and bag down on a side table and kicked off her shoes.

There was no response, which was very unusual. She instantly became worried. "Guys?"

"Sorry, Nat, we're in here!" Came Steve Rogers' voice from the living room.

_What on earth could they be up to now? _Natasha thought as she made her way to the living room.

Upon arriving, she saw eight year old Maggie staring intently at a jar sitting on the coffee table. Steve was on her left, and was also staring at the jar.

"Mama, look what we found!" Maggie happily invited her mom over to her other side.

Natasha kneeled down next to her daughter and looked at the jar, which currently housed a spider with a notable red hourglass-shaped spot on its abdomen.

"A black widow?" She questioned the two people sitting next to her.

"Yeah!" Maggie answered enthusiastically. "Daddy found him earlier when he was outside and showed me, so we caught him in a jar! We had to be careful since they're ven... Ven-uh... Ven..."

"Venomous." Steve finished for his daughter, an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah, venomous, which means when he bites, it's poisonous! But we read online that it isn't fatal to most healthy humans." Maggie informed her mother. "It's okay, though, this spider-his name is Spidey-is really nice, see? He's just hanging out with us!"

"Yeah, he is a nice spider." Natasha commented and smiled at the twinkle in her daughter's eyes.

"Why don't you tell her why we caught the spider-"

"Spidey!" Maggie corrected her father.

"Right, tell her why we caught Spidey, Mags." Steve prompted the young redhead.

"Oh yeah! Well I missed you a lot yesterday and today so Daddy said that Spidey could stay with us until you come home, since he's a black widow and you're _the _Black Widow!" Maggie explained. "I like black widows, they remind me of you, Mama. So I'm not scared of them!"

Natasha honestly didn't know what to say as she listened to her daughter's explanation.

"I'm glad you're not scared of those spiders like most people are, Лапушка." Natasha said, pulling her daughter into a hug. She sent Steve a look of joy, mixed with slight anger that he let Maggie get so close to a venomous spider! However, she figured the good out weighed the bad-_this _time.

"It's also great that you don't just hate them because they're spiders. That's very nice of you, Лапушка, and I'm sure Spidey appreciates it." Natasha continued. Maggie huffed her chest out in pride as they ended their hug.

"So, Maggie, I think it's time to let Spidey go, since Mama's home." Steve suggested after a few more moments of watching Spidey crawl around.

"Yeah, Spidey might have some family and friends he has to go back home to, Лапушка." Natasha added on.

"Okay." Maggie said, jumping up. "Can I carry the jar, Daddy?"

Steve quickly shot a glance to Natasha to make sure it was alright with her. She shrugged and he granted the happy girl permission.

The small family all walked out to the front of the house and Maggie looked for a good place to release Spidey.

"How about over there?" Maggie asked, pointing at some bushes on the far edge of the lawn.

"That looks good, Mags, here, I'll open the jar." Steve said, grabbing the jar as they all walked over to the bushes. He opened it and placed it on the ground, watching as Spidey crawled out and onto the ground. The black widow quickly scurried away, deeper into the bushes as Maggie waved and said goodbye happily.

"Are you guys going to miss Spidey?" Natasha couldn't help but ask with an amused smile as they walked back into the house.

Father and daughter shared a glance before turning back to Natasha.

"Nah, 'cause we already have our own Black Widow!" Maggie said, hugging her mother tightly.

"Indeed we do." Steve echoed as wrapped an arm around Natasha's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "No spider can ever replace you."

Natasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, marveling in the moment.

"I'm glad I mean more to you guys than a spider!" She finally spoke up in a teasing manner, causing all three to break out in laughter.


	5. Babysitting-phobia

**A/N: **I had this idea while watching _The Avengers_ and here it is! Thanks again for all the love and support; you people are awesome! :D I unfortunately go back to school next week and finals will be right around the corner, so updates will be slower than ever! :( Luckily I have less than a month of school left so it won't be for too long.

I want your guys' opinions now. Should Maggie inherit any kind of power or enhancement or something from the Cap, since there would technically be super soldier serum in her blood as well? Leave an idea or something in the reviews, 'cause I haven't decided yet if I want to do something with it or not. :)

* * *

Natasha Romanoff looked up from watching five year old Maggie play with Bruce Banner as she heard someone humming in the kitchen. And that someone turned out to be Steve Rogers. He was humming "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" from Disney's _Frozen_, one of Maggie's all time favorite movies.

"Looks like someone's been watching a lot of Disney lately." Natasha teased as she took a seat at the bar and watched Steve cook.

"This song is almost always stuck in my head!" Steve exclaimed in exasperation. "Last week, during that meeting with Fury, I almost went crazy as it looped in my head for the entire meeting!"

Natasha held back a laugh at her lover's suffering at the hands of Disney. "Well, if it's any better, during my last mission with Clint, he heard me singing 'Let it Go' in the shower from his room next door! I could've sworn I wasn't singing that loudly!"

"Well, I can say from experience, that you kind of do." Steve teased as he finished making a pot of macaroni and cheese. "Alright, dinner, everyone!" he called, handing Natasha a stack of plates.

Maggie quickly ran over, giggling, with Bruce in tow. "What's for dinner?" he asked as he took a plate.

"Macaroni and cheese." Steve answered with a smile, and Maggie cheered, "I love mac and cheese!"

"Yup, I thought you would enjoy some tonight." The captain said, kissing his daughter on the top of her head as Natasha carefully scooped some of the pot's contents onto their happy daughter's plate.

Soon all four were sitting at the dinner table, chatting and laughing. They were at Stark Tower, and were currently its only occupants. Pepper and Tony were out of town for a few days, presumably at the billionaire's renovated Malibu house; Thor, as usual, was in Asgard; finally, Clint had been on a mission, but it had just been wrapped up today and the assassin was expected back at the tower in a few hours.

Natasha and Steve themselves had just returned from a mission a few days prior, which had given Tony and Pepper the chance to go travel as they no longer needed to stay with Maggie. Though Bruce was home the entire time, the scientist was not yet ready to take care of a child by himself, in fear of "the other guy" coming out and harming her.

However, Bruce would have to face his fears sooner or later as Natasha and Steve received an urgent call from Fury shortly after they finished their dinner. The mission was an emergency, he said, and he needed them back in DC at the Triskelion in only a few short hours.

"Do you have to go?" Maggie asked her parents sadly, after they broke the news and grabbed their go bags from their room.

"I'm sorry, Лапушка, but we do." Natasha said, crouching down on the ground to meet her daughter's height, pulling her into a hug.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Cap?" Bruce asked Steve quietly, as they were standing a few feet away from the two redheads. "I mean… What if the other guy…"

"You'll be fine, Bruce. It's only for a few hours, anyway, since Clint should be home soon." Steve tried to assure his friend. "I have confidence in you being able to take care of my daughter."

"What if something _does_ happen, though?" Bruce can't help but worry.

Steve sighed, thinking for a moment. "Then I don't know. Which is why I'm sure you guys will be fine."

* * *

"Hey, Лапушка, I have to tell you something very important." Natasha says to her daughter slowly after breaking the hug. "Listen to Uncle Brucie. If he tells you not to do something, then listen to him. Don't make him mad or surprise him, okay?"

"Okay." Maggie answers with a nod.

"And you know how he turns into the Hulk, like in the story we tell you about the Battle of New York?"

"Yeah! Hulk smash!" Maggie cheers happily.

Natasha smiles at her daughter's enthusiasm. "Yes, well, if he turns into the Hulk while you guys are alone tonight, ask Jarvis to help you get out of here and run away from the Hulk, okay?" she says, though she is confident nothing will happen, she wants to be prepared. She tried to push her fearful memories of Bruce attacking her while Loki was escaping right before the Battle of New York from her mind, knowing that she and Bruce had reconciled with one another since then.

"Why?" Maggie asked, curiosity evident in her bright blue eyes.

"Because sometimes when Uncle Brucie changes into the Hulk, he can't control it, and he thinks everyone is a bad guy." Natasha tried to explain.

"But I'm not a bad guy!" The five year old protested.

"I know you're not, and Uncle Brucie knows you're not. But when he changes, he forgets these things, so be nice to him and don't make him mad, okay?" Natasha emphasizes.

"Okay, Mama." Maggie nods and hugs her mother once again, who picks her up and walks back to the two men.

"Alright, kiddo, we gotta go." Steve says, grabbing the child from Natasha's arms and hugging her closely. "We should be back in a few days. Be good for Uncle Brucie." He says, kissing the side of her head affectionately.

"Bye, Daddy." Maggie replies as Steve puts her down. "Bye, Mama."

"Bye, Лапушка, we'll be back soon." Natasha promises as she and Steve enter the elevator.

"Bye." Maggie says one last time, with a wave, as the elevator doors close. She then turns to her uncle. "What should we do now, Uncle Brucie?"

"We can play a board game." He offered. "How about Chutes and Ladders?"

"Yeah! I'll go grab it!" Maggie said happily and ran off to go retrieve the game.

* * *

After multiple rounds of the board game, the two played several other games and watched Disney's _Tangled. _As the credits were rolling, Bruce noticed it was now 8:30 PM.

"Alright, Maggie, I think it's bath time."

"Okay, Uncle Brucie, I'll go grab my jammies." Maggie said, running off to grab clothes as Bruce packed up the game.

The duo soon found themselves in one of Tony's huge bathrooms with a huge bathtub. Luckily, Maggie had left plenty of bath toys at the tower so she would have many fun things to do during bath time.

Bruce started the water and tested the temperature with his hand. After it reached a safe amount of warmth, he let the tub fill up to safe height before carefully helping the young girl into it.

"Uncle Brucie, can I have bubbles?" Maggie asked politely.

"Of course, what would a bath be without bubbles?" Bruce chuckled in reply as he poured the necessary liquid into the bath, producing a multitude of bubbles.

As Bruce washed the young girl's hair, Maggie played with her various rubber toys and blew bubbles everywhere. Wanting to join in on the fun, Bruce applied bubbles to his face, giving himself a bubble beard and mustache. Maggie laughed at the silliness and blew bubbles in his direction, which led to a war of them throwing and blowing bubbles at each other. Bruce stopped things before it turned into a splash war, though he thought it would have been a hilarious mess for them to leave for Tony to clean up, but he wouldn't be back for a few days.

At 9:10 PM, Maggie yawned and Bruce pulled her out of the tub, drying her off. He then slipped her pajamas onto her and drained the bath. After brushing out the young girl's silky red hair and drying it with a towel, Maggie brushed her teeth. He carried her out to the living room and sat her down on the couch with a blanket, pillow, and some stuffed animals. He popped _Frozen _into the DVD player and dimmed the lights.

"I'll be in Uncle Tony's bathroom, Maggie. I'm going to go clean up and I'll be right out in a few minutes." Bruce informed the young girl before he left the room. He returned to the bathroom to clean up the water everywhere and put all of Maggie's bath toys back in the right place before hanging the towels up to dry.

* * *

As he returned, he found Maggie still sitting up and now sucking her thumb. He got under the huge blanket with her and she snuggled up against his side, her eyes fighting the sleepiness.

"Uncle Brucie, was I good?" she sleepily asked her uncle.

"Yeah, you were, thank you, Maggie." Bruce answered.

"I love you, Uncle Brucie." She yawned in reply.

"I love you, too." He replied softly, kissing the top of her head gently.

Eventually, Maggie's breathing evened out and Bruce himself fell asleep, as _Frozen _continued to play quietly on the TV screen.

That was how Clint Barton found them when he walked out of the elevator on their floor. He tiptoed over to the couch and TV, watching the familiar scene of Princess Anna confronting Queen Elsa in her ice palace on the North Mountain; he, too, had seen this movie many times because of the young girl.

Smiling, Clint lit up the room a bit with the lights so he could grab a quick picture of them on his cell phone. He then dimmed the lights again and gently shook Bruce awake.

"Hey, it's me, I just got home." He told the half asleep Avenger. "I figured you and Maggie would probably want to go back to your own beds."

Bruce yawned. "Welcome back, Clint, and yeah, that would probably be best." He complied, carefully getting up and bringing Maggie into his arms.

"I'll grab all her little friends." Clint chuckled, grabbing all the stuffed animals that had made it onto the couch with the two sleepyheads and following Bruce into Maggie's room.

Bruce laid the small girl in her bed, under the covers and planted a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Maggie." He said softly as he stepped back, allowing Clint to place the plushies all around the child's sleeping form. Then Clint also kissed and bid goodnight to Maggie and the two stepped out of the room.

"Alright, since I broke up your sleeping pattern, I'll handle the DVD and TV." Clint offered before Bruce could say anything. "You go back to bed."

Too tired to argue, Bruce nodded in agreement and thanked the assassin before walking back to his own room lazily.

After dealing with the TV and returning to his own room for the night, Clint opened up his phone and sent the picture of Maggie and Bruce sleeping to Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Natasha, though he wasn't sure if the last two would have access to their phones on their current mission or not.

With the picture, he sent a text, saying, "_I think our resident doctor has overcome his fear of babysitting._"


	6. Widow's Bite or Shield?

**A/N: **Thanks for all the faves, follows, and reviews! :) I have been looking over all of your guys' different opinions about possible powers for Maggie; all I can say is, keep giving me input! I want to see what the most popular/desired thing for Maggie to have as an effect of her the super soldier serum in her blood, since the Cap is her biological father ;D

Also, for all you peeps requesting Thor/Jane/anything pertaining to the Thor side of the Marvel cinematic universe... Sorry you all haven't gotten anything yet! I only watched Thor for the first time mostly all the way through today, and have read the plot summary for Dark World. So that and the Avengers are as far as my current knowledge of all that goes, and I really don't wanna screw up any facts or anything when I write something using those characters and ideas! But do not fret, I will hopefully figure out something soon. :)

In the meantime, here is a funny idea I had after I saw Winter Soldier again last night (with friends!) xD

* * *

An intense competition and rivalry has sparked in the small home of Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers.

The rules of the game were simple: whichever word Maggie learned to say first out of two given words that represented either Avenger meant victory for the corresponding parent.

For example, Maggie had figured out how to say "mama" before "dada," resulting in a victory for Natasha.

Natasha scored another victory when Maggie managed to say "Black" instead of any part of Steve's superhero alias.

Of course, Maggie was also able to say other simple things, like "dog" or "cat," but the two Avengers often competed for words that could be affiliated with themselves.

The current competition was in the weapon department. The two parents often worked individually with their daughter to say either a part of "Widow's Bite" or "Shield."

"Come on, Maggie, can you say 'Widow'?" Natasha tried as she sat on the floor with her year and a half old daughter while Steve was away.

"Wih… Weh… Wid…" The toddler babbled.

"Yes, come on, 'widow,' you can do it." The Avenger gently encouraged.

"Wid… Mama." The toddler said, pointing to her mother.

"Yes, Лапушка, I am Black Widow!" Natasha praised her daughter, not noticing the opening and closing of the front door. "Good job, but can you say 'bite'?"

"Bah… Dada!" Maggie began, but soon shifted interest as she watched her father enter the room.

"Oh, hey Steve." Natasha said, tilting her head up to receive a peck on the lips from the soldier, also trying to hide what she had been working on with Maggie a few seconds earlier. "How was work?"

"Nice try, Nat." Steve replied after giving Natasha the desired kiss. "I heard you asking her to say 'bite' when I came in the front door." He sat down next to the two redheads, bringing his daughter into his lap and kissing the top of her head.

Natasha faked surprise. "Whatever could you be talking about, Rogers?"

"Please, I know what you've been up to." Steve laughed in reply.

"Well, I'm 2 and 0 at the moment, so I thought I would keep my winning streak going." Natasha replied with a cocky grin. "Besides, she totally would have said 'bite' by the time you returned if you had come a minute later!"

"Well, at least I can show Maggie _my _weapon with less risk of her hurting herself." Steve gloated. "Hey, Mags, wanna see something cool?"

"Cool!" Maggie happily parroted in reply. "Dada cool!"

Steve smiled widely. "Okay, that has _gotta _count for something in our competition."

"No way! She figured out my name first." Natasha playfully argued back. "Besides, if we're going to go that deep, then I should get another point, since she was able to link my 'Black Widow' alias with my identity as her mother. So then it'll be 3 to 1 and you'll _still_ be losing."

Steve dramatically groaned as he lifted Maggie and handed her to Natasha. "Alright, fine, have it your way with the original rules." He gave in as he left the room to retrieve his shield. He returned a few seconds later and laid it down on the floor, with the painted side face-up.

"There, now it can't fall on her." Steve said, proud of his "genius" idea, as Natasha set Maggie on the floor next to it. Natasha often worried over the shield falling on the toddler if said child touched it while it was leaning against something.

"Alright, genius, let's see if she learns to say 'bite' or 'shield' first." Natasha scoffed, though there was only amusement and no resentment in her voice.

"Okay, Mags, do you see this?" Steve said, pointing to the patriotic shield. "It's a 'shield.' Can you say, 'shield'?"

Maggie leaned over the huge piece of metal and touched the star with a small hand. She ran her hand over it, feeling the rare metal. "Dada!" she finally said.

"Yes, it is mine." Steve replied, feeling like they were on the right track. "But can you say 'shield'?"

"Shee… Shell… Sheed…" Maggie babbled, fascinated by the colorful and worn out shield.

"Don't forget about 'bite,' Лапушка!" Natasha called from her daughter's other side.

"Shield!"

"Bite!"

"Shield!"

"Bite!"

"Bah… She…" Maggie couldn't keep up with her competitive parents.

"Come on, Maggie." Steve pleaded with his daughter.

"You can do it, Лапушка." Natasha urged.

"Shi… Bi…"

"I'm in the lead!" Steve said triumphantly. "She tried to say 'shield' first that time!"

"Please, there is no lead." Natasha scoffed.

"Shield!" Steve tried again.

"Bite!" Natasha wouldn't let him win.

"Shield!"

"Bite!"

"Cool!" Maggie chimed in, and Steve facepalmed.

"No, Mags, come on, 'shield'!" Steve sighed in reply.

The two Avengers continued to do their best to urge Maggie to say one of the two weapon names, but it ended with Maggie chiming in with "hungry," causing the parents to give up and start dinner.

* * *

During dinner, Natasha and Steve finally had a conversation over how Steve's day of work went while Maggie managed to eat everything on her plate, prompting the two heroes to cheer her on and reward her with a cookie for dessert.

As Natasha and Steve worked on cleaning up after dinner and loading the dishwasher, neither of them had been paying much attention as they both heard "Shield!" out of nowhere.

"Steve, I think she gets what word you're trying to make her say by now." Natasha laughed, as she had been paying the least amount of attention.

"That wasn't me!" Steve replied as he quickly walked over to Maggie. "Mags, say it again.

"Dada?" Maggie questioned. "Shield?"

"Yes!" Steve said, quickly removing his cookie crumb covered daughter from her high chair and hugging her tightly. "Shield is right!"

Natasha sighed in exasperation as she walked over to the happy father daughter pair. "Wow, you got lucky this time." She said, but couldn't fight the smile that appeared on her face.

"Shield!" Maggie repeated happily, not knowing exactly what it meant, but figured it made her dad happy by saying it. "Shield!"

"That means you have to send out the video this time." Steve said to Natasha proudly, still holding their daughter.

"Alright, alright." Natasha laughed, pulling out her phone. She hit the record button to start video taping. "Okay, action."

"Maggie, can you say it again?" Steve prompted his daughter. "Can you say 'shield'?"

"Shield!" Maggie yelled happily, surprising both parents with her volume and enthusiasm. "Dada shield!"

"Current score is 2-1." Steve said with a smile to the phone camera, as Maggie added another "Shield!" before Natasha stopped recording.

"Alright, Cap, don't get to cocky now." Natasha teased as she sent the video to the rest of the Avengers and Pepper.

"Dada happy?" Maggie asked her dad, who was still smiling.

"Yeah, I am happy." He said, planting a big kiss on the toddler's cheek as he hugged her closer. "I love you."

"Love you!" Maggie replied, as she had mastered the phrase a few weeks prior.

"Don't forget about Mama!" Steve added as he walked over to Natasha and leaned to pass off Maggie into her mother's arms.

"Love you!" Maggie repeated as her mother kissed her now.

"I love you, too." Natasha said with a warm smile. "Now, then, I think it's bath time for a certain little Avenger!"

"Bath!" Maggie parroted enthusiastically, causing the two Avengers to laugh.


	7. Triskelion (Mis)Adventures

**A/N: ***cries forever* I'm back in school! Nooooo D': As you can already tell, that means less updates. :(

So I'm trying something new with this chapter-it's a prequel! A prequel to *I think* the second chapter, "Reality Check," where Natasha gets hurt on a mission (not fatally) and she is force to realize she can't promise her family she will always return from missions.

This actually wasn't intended to be a prequel until I realized the parent present with Maggie, parent gone on a mission, setting, and Maggie's age all matched up! Funny, huh? Well, enjoy! :)

* * *

Steve Rogers sighed as he walked through the front doors of the Triskelion, his phone in one hand and his four year old daughter's hand in the other. Natasha Romanoff was due back from a mission with Clint within the hour, and Steve got called in to be debriefed for a mission he would be leaving on that same day. That left the father with an hour to find somewhere Maggie could wait for her mother at the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

"_Steve Rogers._" The AI identified him as Steve led Maggie into one of the glass elevators. "Come on, Mags, I will show you around where Mama and I work." He said, before telling the elevator AI which floor he wanted to go to.

Maggie looked outside the huge glass panels of the elevator and at the massive view of the skyline. As the elevator moved up, she held onto Steve tighter; she was not a huge fan of heights.

As they moved up in floors, the elevator got more and more crowded. People constantly filtered in and out.

On one floor, the doors opened and Maggie spotted a head of fiery red hair outside of the glass box. "Mama!" she exclaimed, and weaved through the tight crowd in the elevator and squeezed out just before the doors closed, leaving Steve behind.

"Wait, Maggie!" He called. By the time he pushed through the crowd and got to the front of the elevator, the doors were closed and it continued ascending towards the higher floors.

_Well, shit._ Steve internally swore, feeling panic rise up in his chest as he got off the next stop and ran to the stairwell.

* * *

"Mama!" Maggie cheered happily, running up to the redhead she had spotted. However, it turned out to not be her mother, but a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who continued walking by.

"Uh oh…" The four year old realized the gravity of what she had done as she couldn't find her father anywhere.

"Daddy?" she called out as she walked around on the crowded floor she was currently on, tears welling up in her eyes. "Daddy?!" No response. Panic began to set in. She began wandering around aimlessly.

After a few minutes of walking and not paying attention, Maggie absentmindedly bumped into someone. "Ouch!"

The person she had bumped into turned out to be none other than Agent Maria Hill, who quickly recognized the confused girl. "Maggie? What are you doing here?" the agent questioned the young girl, crouching down in front of her.

"I lost Daddy." Maggie explained with a small whimper, wiping her eyes. "I can't find him anywhere!"

"Hey, it's okay, sweetie." Maria said, pulling the small girl into a hug. "We'll find him."

"He has to go to a meeting so he might be too busy to get me!" Maggie cried.

So that's why the young girl was even in the building in the first place, Maria realized. Her mother was supposed to be home very soon, so her father got called in the meantime. That left Maggie with no one to watch her, except for Steve, resulting in him having to bring her along.

"Well, if he's busy, I know someone very special who will want to see you." Maria offered comfortingly. "We can tell your daddy to meet us there. How does that sound?"

Maggie sniffled. "Okay, Aunt Ria." She said quietly. Much like how "Bruce" became "Brucie," "Maria" became "Ria" in the young girl's vocabulary.

"Alright, hold my hand so we stay together." Maria said, tightly grasping Maggie's hand as she led her over to the elevators.

"_Maria Hill._" The elevator identified Maria as she walked in with Maggie.

"Director Fury's office." Maria told the AI, turning to see the excited smile on Maggie's face.

"We're gonna see Uncle Nick?" The four year old asked excitedly, all the tears now gone.

"Yup. I'll bring you to him and then call your dad to meet us there." Maria explained.

As the elevator started to move, Maggie wrapped her arms around the agent's waist. "Hey, you okay?" Maria asked the once again shaken up girl.

"I don't like being high up." Maggie replied, avoiding looking out the glass panels. She then avoided meeting Maria's eyes, ashamed of her fear. "It's silly."

"That's not silly, Maggie." Maria replied honestly, lifting the young girl's chin to meet her eyes. "Everyone is scared of something. And I think being high up can be scary, too."

"Really?" The redhead replied, dumbfounded. "But I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't scared of anything!"

"Being brave, Maggie, means willing to face your fears, just like you are now, by riding in this elevator." Maria tried to explain. "What makes agents brave is their desire to protect other people at all times, even when it means facing their own fears."

"Wow." Maggie's eyes twinkled with fascination. "So I can be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, too?"

"Of course." Maria said with a warm smile as they exited the elevator and walked into Fury's office.

"Agent Hill, what can I do for you—" Fury begins to ask before seeing the young girl at her side. "Hello, Maggie, I guess the proper question would be what can I do for _you_?"

Maggie giggled as she ran up to him and hugged him. "Hi, Uncle Nick! I got lost while I was with Daddy so Aunt Ria brought me here so Daddy can come get me." She hastily explained.

Looking at Maria for input, the agent shrugged. "That's pretty much what happened, sir."

"Can you tell me a story?" Maggie asked excitedly.

"I suppose I have some time for that." Fury said as he sat down and lifted the young girl into his lap. He glanced at Maria, who signaled she was going to go call Steve, before leaving the room.

* * *

Steve was flustered as he ran through different floors and asked around if anyone had seen Maggie. He feared the worst, as he remembered the struggle they faced with Hydra's secret presence years before, but he tried to stay in control.

The ringing of his phone brought him out of his thoughts as he read the Caller ID. Maria Hill.

"Hello?" Steve said into his phone, trying to control his shaking voice.

"_Hey, Cap, don't worry, Maggie's with Fury_." Maria said bluntly, to put the worried parent at ease immediately. "_I bumped into her on the 38__th__ floor and then took her up to his office so you could have an easy place to come pick her up_."

"Oh, thank God." Steve let out the breath he was holding. "I was so worried something happened or someone took her…"

"_Well, no need to worry now, Steve_." Maria said softly. "_The only thing you should be afraid of now is Fury possibly telling her some crazy stories about you or Natasha_."

Steve laughed for the first time in a while. "Believe me when I say I'd rather be dealing with that than trying to find Maggie in this huge building." He replied, walking into an elevator. "_I'll be up in a few. See you then. And thanks so much, Maria_." Maria smiled at the sincerity in his voice.

"Don't mention it, taking care of Maggie is probably the highlight of my work day right now." She admitted before hanging up.

"And then, the councilwoman took off her disguise, and do you know who it was?" Maria heard as she walked back into his office.

"Who, Uncle Nick?" Came Maggie's excited voice.

"It was none other than your mama." Fury answered happily. "Alexander Pierce was _not_ expecting that, I can assure you."

"Wow!" Maggie said happily. "And then what?"

"Then she hacked into the Hydra data, and leaked it all out to the public, exposing all their secrets." Fury recalled the events as if they had just happened. "However, she needed two high security clearance people to unlock the rest of the information. So then I came back in a helicopter. But Alexander Pierce had erased all of my passwords and logins…"

Maria smiled as she watched Maggie hang onto every word of the very watered down story of Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. The agent wasn't sure if the young girl had heard it yet or not, but even if she did, she had never heard it from Fury's point of view before.

As Fury recollected about Natasha shocking herself to disable the armed name tag Pierce had placed on her in the beginning of the story, Steve practically ran into the room.

"Well it's about damn time." Fury said in his classic monotone voice at Steve's appearance. However, there was a hint of amusement in it as Maggie ran up to her father.

"Language, sir." Maria scolded with a laugh. Fury shrugged before his phone rang, and he excused himself from the room to answer it.

"DADDY!" Maggie cried happily, jumping into her father's arms.

"Maggie, I've been looking for you!" Steve said exasperatedly, hugging her tightly. "You know you're not supposed to run off like that!" he gently scolded, pulling away enough to look into her blue eyes.

"I thought I saw Mama outside, 'cause I saw someone with the same color hair." Maggie explained, sniffling, as she was on the verge of tears again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run away, I thought you were behind me, honest!"

"Well next time, maybe we should both be more careful." Steve offered gently, accepting that it also partially his fault.

"Okay, Daddy." Maggie complied.

"Now then, Mama should be back any minute now, so thank Aunt Ria and Uncle Nick and say 'bye-bye.'" Steve instructed, setting Maggie back down on the ground.

She ran up to Maria and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for helping me, Aunt Ria! Bye-bye!"

"Bye, _Agent Rogers_." Maria said with a wink, and received an excited smile from Maggie in return.

Before Fury could say anything as he walked back in the room, Maggie practically jumped on him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for telling me that story, Uncle Nick! Bye-bye!" she thanked him.

"Well, thank you for coming by, Maggie." Fury said earnestly with a smile. Then, his face dropped. "But you better go back to your daddy, 'cause I have to tell you something really important."

Maggie ran back to her father, who hoisted her up in his arms. "Sir, what is it? Did something happen?" Steve asked, worry reflecting in his blue eyes.

"I just received word that Agent Romanoff has returned. However, she was injured." Fury said carefully. "She was shot in the arm."

Steve felt himself pale, though he was thankful it wasn't much worse, which it could have been.

"Hurt?" Maggie's timid voice echoed.

The three adults all shared worried glances as Maggie was trying to comprehend the new information.

"Yes, Maggie, Mama badly hurt her arm while on her mission." Steve replied, not sure how to explain the concept of getting shot to a four year old.

Maggie looked terrified. "Does that mean she's gonna leave us?" she asked fearfully.

Steve mouthed the word "die" over his daughter's head to the two agents in the room, who had looked confused. "No, Mags, since it was just her arm that got hurt, she's okay. She just can't use it for a while and will have to rest more."

It appeared Steve's explanation had been in vain as Maggie buried her head in the space between his neck and shoulder and started crying.

Steve sighed. "Fury, I know you need me for a mission today…"

"Just go, Steve. Go visit Natasha with Maggie. They need you more than I do right now. Maria and I will handle it." Fury said, dismissing the Avenger from his office.

"Thank you, sir." Steve said respectfully, before turning to Maria. "And thanks again for finding her." With that, he rushed out of the room with Maggie holding onto him for dear life.

* * *

**A/N: **I hate ending it on a sad note like that! But alas, it's been resolved in my previous chapter. :3 Hope everyone seemed in character this chapter; I loved writing Fury and Maggie interacting!


	8. Popsicles and Sore Throats

**A/N: **Alright, update! Yay! Time for some family fluff of taking care of a kid. :3 Also, I'm not a doctor or medical expert or anything, so I'm just going off of personal experiences of having bad colds and fevers and such. :)

* * *

"Mama, I don't feel good." The five year old redhead sniffled.

"I know, Лапушка, I know." Natasha Romanoff tried to gently soothe the young girl. Steve Rogers quickly walked back into the room, holding a thermometer.

"Here, I'm going to take your temperature, okay?" Steve said gently as he sat down on the bed next to his daughter. "Open your mouth, and say 'aah.'"

"Aah." Maggie did as instructed, and Steve stuck the thermometer in.

"We have to keep it under your tongue like that until it beeps, okay?" Steve said gently as Maggie held her head in an awkward position to accommodate for the item in her mouth.

"102.5 degrees Fahrenheit." Steve sighed as he examined the thermometer a minute later. "Sorry, kiddo, you got a fever."

When Steve had woken up early for his daily morning run that morning in Stark Tower, he heard Maggie call for him as soon as he left his and Natasha's room. He hurried over, and found her crying in discomfort. After feeling her forehead, he woke Natasha quickly and rushed to get a thermometer.

"My throat hurts." Maggie replied sadly.

"We will give you some medicine to help it not hurt anymore." Natasha offered as nicely as she could, but expected the normal reaction.

"I don't want medicine, it tastes gross." Maggie protested.

"But it will help you feel better." Steve urged, staring into his daughter's eyes.

"Promise?" The young girl asked intently, staring back.

"Promise." He complied. "I'm going to go put the thermometer away and get a washcloth, medicine, and water."

"Okay, hurry back." Natasha replied, watching him leave the room before focusing her attention back on Maggie.

"I don't wanna be sick, Mama. Uncle Clint said we could go do fun stuff today." Maggie whined, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know, Лапушка, and I'm sorry." Natasha replied, firmly holding her daughter's hand. "But I am sure he will still spend time with you today, and help you have fun, even though you're sick."

"How can I have fun when I'm sick?"

Before Natasha could reply, Steve quickly walked back into the room carrying the promised items, accompanied by Bruce Banner.

"Uncle Brucie." Maggie blinked as she looked up at her uncle.

"Hi, Maggie, I just came to make sure you are okay." Bruce gently explained as he sat down on the bed next to her. "How do you feel?"

"My throat hurts and my nose is all stuffy." Maggie replied sadly. "And I'm tired."

"Does your tummy hurt or feel funny at all?" Bruce asked, and Maggie shook her head.

"Sounds like a bad cold, but without any nausea." He diagnosed, standing up and letting Steve take his place on the bed. "Give her medicine at the appropriate times today, but she should rest a lot. Then she should be better in a day or two. No playing or special operations today, Maggie." One of the young redhead's favorite games these days was leading her parents or uncles on pretend missions after receiving a Walkie Talkie set for her fifth birthday the month before.

"Alright now, Mags, you gotta drink this so you can feel better." Steve said as he handed her the tiny plastic cup with the appropriate amount of children's liquid Tylenol in it. She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Come on, Maggie, I know you can do it." Natasha urged. "If you do, Daddy and I will tell you _two_ stories before you go back to sleep." She offered.

"...Okay." Maggie complied tiredly after mulling it over for a few seconds. She downed the liquid and made a face afterwards. The adults smirked in amusement as Steve handed her a glass of water to drink.

After setting the glass on the bedside table, they got Maggie to lay back and Steve placed the cold washcloth on her forehead. "There you go, kiddo, hopefully that will help bring your fever down."

"I'll leave you two to it. Call me if any of you need anything." Bruce said. "I'll see you later, Maggie."

"Bye, Uncle Brucie." Maggie quietly replied as Bruce turned and left the room.

"Now then, I think we owe a certain brave little soldier—" Steve began.

"Or _spy_." Natasha cut in teasingly, causing Maggie to giggle.

"—two stories instead of one." Steve finished with a chuckle.

"Yes, please." Maggie verified as she relaxed against her bed.

"Now, what stories should we tell today?" Natasha wondered aloud with a warm smile.

* * *

"So, the munchkin is sick today?" Tony asked a few hours later as he sat down with the rest of the tower's current occupants in the main room.

"Yup. It sucks." Natasha sighed. She turned to Clint. "She was really looking forward to getting to spend time with you today; she was on the verge of tears."

"Poor kid." Clint commented, also feeling sad about having to postpone their fun day. "I'm pretty sad, too. I love spending time with her."

"Please tell me _you_ aren't going to cry, though." Tony teased.

Clint just rolled his eyes in amusement.

"How long has she been sleeping?" Pepper asked.

"A few hours now." Steve answered. "When I woke up early to go for a run like I normally do, I guess she heard me get up because she called for me. I found her crying and saying her throat hurt and that she didn't feel good."

"Poor thing." Pepper said sadly. "It's so weird to not see her run around the tower and liven things up like she normally does."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"I really hope her temperature goes down." Natasha sighed, her mind plagued with memories of a much sicker Maggie two years prior. "It was pretty high earlier—102.5. Hopefully the sleep is helping her body recover quickly."

Before anyone could say anything more, the Walkie Talkie sitting on the table beeped to life. "Mama? Daddy?"

Natasha grabbed it and spoke into it. "Hey, sleepyhead, Daddy and I are coming. Over."

"Roger that." Came Maggie's weak reply. "Oh! I almost forgot—over!"

Everyone smiled at the small girl's stumble.

"Seems like she's feeling better and more active." Bruce commented with a smile.

"I hope so." Steve said as he grabbed the thermometer and walked to Maggie's room with Natasha.

* * *

"Hey, look who it is!" Clint called as Natasha and Steve walked back out, the latter carrying Maggie and a huge blanket in his arms.

"Hi, Uncle Clint." Maggie replied, sounding defeated. Steve set her on the couch and draped the blanket over her.

"I figured she could come sit out with us now." Natasha explained as she grabbed more Tylenol from the cabinet. "The fever has gone down to 100.8, and I thought she could take a break from sleeping."

"Maggie, we heard you were sick! Do you feel better now?" Pepper asked as she sat down next to the young girl.

"A little." Maggie replied. "My throat still hurts."

"You know what helps a sore throat feel better?" Tony offered, sitting across from his niece. "Popsicles."

Maggie's eyes lit up instantly. "Do we have popsicles?" she excitedly asked in reply.

"Um, of course!" Tony replied, almost matching the young girl's excitement. "Yo, Capsicle, can you fetch the box of popsicles—"

"Wait!" Natasha stopped everyone. "Maggie, you should try to eat something first." She said, walking over to the couch with the next dose of medicine.

"I'm not hungry." Maggie replied, taking the plastic cup from her mother's hand.

"Can you at least try? If you try, you can have a popsicle afterward." She offered in reply.

Maggie weighed her options before settling with an "Okay." She downed the medicine once again and drank water afterwards to help wash the taste out.

"Uncle Brucie, do you have any medicine that tastes better than that?" Maggie asked, scrunching up her face.

"Sorry, Maggie, I don't think I do. They don't really make medicine taste well anywhere." Bruce replied.

"Alright, now let's try some food." Steve said. "Anything specific you want, Mags?"

"Popsicle." She replied simply, causing the adults to snicker.

"Nice try, Лапушка." Natasha grinned as Maggie let out a "Darn!"

"I think everyone could use some lunch." Pepper commented, standing up. "Maybe we can order something, or someone can go grab something."

"Sounds good! Now it's time for all of us to agree on something…" Tony grumbled as he eyed all the other people in the room.

* * *

Maggie had managed to eat some French fries and a chicken strip, which her parents took as a success. As everyone finished up their food, Tony clapped his hands together.

"Alright, _now _it's popsicle time!" He declared, and Maggie happily agreed.

"I can't tell who's more excited—Stark or Maggie." Clint muttered to Steve, causing him to laugh.

"Hey, now, Legolas, keep it up and you aren't getting a popsicle." Tony warned.

"Oh, now you've hurt me!" Clint snorted sarcastically.

"Uncle Tony, you should share with Uncle Clint, he likes popsicles, too!" Maggie chided the billionaire with a serious look on her face. "Uncle Nick said good people share."

Steve couldn't help but smirk at the memory of Fury insisting he was generous and always shared years before.

Tony sighed. "Alright, alright, the kid has spoken."

"Thank you, Maggie." Clint said warmly, kissing his goddaughter on the temple.

The group continued to sit at the table as Tony passed out popsicles, of course, letting Maggie pick first. They sat and ate them for a while, everyone always looking over to make sure the young redhead was okay.

Finally when Maggie was finishing her popsicle, her eyes became heavy and she constantly fluttered them open. Clint noticed first and quickly gestured for everyone else to look.

"Mags, are you getting sleepy?" Steve asked as Natasha wiped the young girl's sticky mouth and hands with a napkin.

"A little." Maggie yawned in reply.

"I think it's time for you to go back to bed, missy." Natasha teased gently as she finished wiping Maggie. "There, now you are all clean for your nice bed."

Steve then stood up and heaved Maggie up into his arms. She tiredly wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on top of his shoulder, looking at everyone sideways.

"Uncle Clint, will you tell me a story?" She requested quietly with a yawn.

"Of course, kid." Clint replies, standing up and following father and daughter into Maggie's room.

"Thanks for the popsicles, Tony." Natasha thanked the genius as she collected everyone's garbage with Pepper. "It really cheered Maggie up."

"Anything for my favorite niece." Tony replied overdramatically, placing a hand over his heart.

"You mean your only niece." Bruce chuckled.

"Something like that." Tony waved it off.

* * *

"You comfy, kid?" Clint asked, sitting on the bed as Maggie got slid under the covers.

"Uh-huh." Maggie replied, yawning again.

"I'll be out there with Mama and everyone else, alright?" Steve confirmed as he kissed Maggie on the top of her head. "Just call us in the Walkie Talkie if you need anything."

"Okay, Daddy." Maggie replied. Steve walked out of the room, trying to make up for the one-on-one time the young girl had missed out on that day with her godfather.

"Have any story requests?" Clint asked. "Or do you want a surprise?"

"Surprise." Maggie said, not knowing what story she actually wanted.

"Okay." Clint complied. "Well, one time your mom and I were sent to France undercover…"

* * *

"I feel better!" Maggie declared happily as Steve carried her out of the room later that evening.

"Really? So much better that you still can't walk on your own?" Tony teased. Maggie stuck her tongue out at him.

"I think you're just bitter about her putting you in your place earlier over the popsicles." Pepper said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hey!" Tony protested in reply, causing everyone to laugh.

"Her temperature is officially under 100. It's 99.5." Natasha announced with a triumphant grin, sitting down next to Maggie on the couch. "I know it's still really close to 100, but I'm just glad it's going down."

"Good, so we maybe we can do something super fun tomorrow!" Clint said happily as he sat down next to Maggie on her other side. "Whaddya say, kid?"

"I say, 'yes!'" Maggie cheered happily.

"I knew you would." Clint smiled.

"Nothing to strenuous." Steve warned. "Your body will still be recovering, Mags."

"For now, maybe we should stick to something simple and relaxing." Bruce suggested. "How about a movie?"

Maggie gasped excitedly. "Let's watch _Frozen_!"

Everyone groaned, and the little girl pouted.

"Alright, alright, I'm putting it in the DVD player." Natasha tried to appease her daughter. "But if you make that face for too long, Лапушка, it might get stuck like that."

Maggie gasped. "No it won't! That's impossible! Right, Uncle Brucie?" she turned to the doctor, hoping science would provide an answer in her favor.

"The young lady is right. Sorry, Natasha." Bruce said with a chuckle, causing Maggie to cheer in victory.

"Science or not, what is it they say in _Tangled_? Oh, right—'Mother knows best!'" Natasha sang confidently, causing Maggie to giggle.

"Hey! What about fathers?" Steve butt in with a pout.

"They listen to Mother." Pepper replied, and Natasha sent her a thumb's up as the movie began playing.

* * *

**A/N:** I also wasn't sure if the super soldier serum makes the Cap immune to getting sick or not, but regardless, I think this is a source of fluff that I don't want our two Avenger parents missing out on! :D


	9. I Love You to Asgard and Back

**A/N: **I tried my best, guys! This is my attempt at bringing Thor and Asgard into this. I think one of my earliest reviews requested Maggie stowing away (well, holding onto Thor, I guess) while Thor goes to Asgard. I like the prompt, but I don't feel comfortable with my amount of knowledge of Asgard to write Maggie as going crazy and doing a bunch of stuff in it! So this chapter is mostly just fluff and Maggie learning an important lesson. I haven't had time to read up and stuff about it because of school, so maybe I'll write something more "adventurous" over the summer. :)

Sorry if anyone is OOC, and I probably failed at writing Thor's and some other Asgardian characters' dialogue here. XDDDD

* * *

"Uncle Thor, I miss Siffy."

Thor examined the almost four year old child standing in front of him. "I can assure you Sif yearns for your acquaintance as well on Asgard." He replied.

Some of Maggie's favorite bedtime stories came from the demi-god. He often told stories that included his childhood friend Sif, and after much asking from the young girl, Thor brought Sif with him to visit earth a few months prior. Maggie loved the warrior immediately, affectionately calling her "Siffy" and always asking for stories.

"Can I come to Asgard with you and visit her?" Maggie asked her uncle with a pout.

"I apologize, Lady Margaret, but I do believe you have not yet aged enough to make the journey. I can assure you that someday you may visit my home realm." Thor offered, trying to appease his niece. The young redhead loved being addressed as a lady.

"Promise?" Maggie demanded intensely.

"I promise." Thor swore.

"I love you to Asgard," Maggie prompted.

"And back." Thor finished with a smile.

The two had been exchanging "I love you" that way for a while now. Natasha had taught Maggie about the phrase, "I love you to the moon and back," which led to the little girl replacing "moon" with "Asgard" when talking to Thor. The demi-god had been confused at first, but after Natasha explained the concept to him, he loved the idea of communicating with the young girl that way.

He gave Maggie a light kiss on her head before she ran off to play "I Spy" with Jarvis.

* * *

"Uncle Thor, am I old enough now?" Seven year old Maggie asked after the demi-god finished telling his niece a story. "Can we go to Asgard?"

"Your parents have yet to permit me to travel across the realms with you by my side." Thor answered. "They will inform you and I when they believe you've matured enough."

Maggie sighed in defeat, laying back on the couch, as the rest of the Avengers strolled into the room.

"Alright, kiddo, are your bags packed?" Steve asked Maggie. "We are going back to DC tonight."

"Awww, I don't want to go home yet!" Maggie begged, sitting up. "I wanna hear more stories from Uncle Thor about Asgard."

"Do not grieve, Lady Margaret. I must depart for Asgard by sundown today." Thor said, trying to reassure his niece. "But I assure you our paths will cross again soon."

"Well, if you want to leave by sundown, Blondie, you better get a move on." Tony commented, gesturing to the sunset out the window.

"Alas, man of iron is correct." Thor replied after observing the setting sun. "I will see you all again soon." He promised, standing up.

Everyone walked out onto the large deck of Stark Tower so the demi-god could depart. Thor crouched down to meet Maggie eye-to-eye.

"I promise you may come with me to Asgard someday." He promised, before lightly kissing her forehead. "I love you to Asgard."

"And back." Maggie finished, hugging him tightly. Then, she had a last minute idea and smiled mischievously as Thor turned away from her and back to the Avengers to say goodbye.

"See you soon, Thor." Clint called as they all waved. Thor nodded and took off, flying high up into the air.

No one realized Maggie had clung onto his leg moments before taking off until he was nearly out of sight.

* * *

As Thor returned to Asgard, he greeted Heimdall in a friendly manner. To Thor's surprise, Sif was also there waiting for him.

"Sif, what business do you have here?" Thor questioned his good friend.

"I heard you were returning today, so I thought I would wait for your arrival on the bridge." Sif replied with a warm smile.

After hearing Sif's name and voice, Maggie jumped out from under Thor's cape behind his leg. "Siffy!" She yelled, running up to the warrior and pulling her in a hug.

Thor and Sif exchanged looks of shock and confusion. "Lady Margaret, you accompanied me to Asgard? How?"

"I held onto your leg really, really tight. I was kinda scared but I knew if I fell off you would catch me!" Maggie explained, looking at the demi-god. She then turned back to Sif. "Siffy I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Indeed, Lady Margaret, it has been a while." Sif replied, crouching down to Maggie's height. "Was Thor not aware of your presence as he traveled across the realms?"

Maggie shook her head. "He said I wasn't big enough to come to Asgard yet. But I must be, 'cause I made it here!"

"Lady Margaret, it is imperative you listen to the words of your parents." Thor said, also crouching down. "They forbade you from coming with me for important reasons."

"They were dumb reasons." Maggie protested.

"Lady Margaret, if your parents aren't aware of your presence here, don't you believe they fear for your wellbeing?" Sif tried. "They must be wondering where their child has gone without them."

Maggie bit her lip, now unsure. "Well, when you put it that way..."

Thor sighed. "Lady Margaret, I promised you I would allow you to come with me someday. But that day is not today."

Maggie was now on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry Uncle Thor! I just wanted to go to Asgard and see Siffy and meet the other people from your stories..." She said, getting closer to tears with each word, prompting Thor to pick her up and hug her as she cried into his neck.

"Thor." Both Thor and Sif turned at the sound of Odin's voice as he approached them. "You have arrived."

Sif bowed respectfully, and took Maggie into her own arms as Thor approached his father. "Father, I apologize for not returning home immediately—"

"Who is this child?" Odin asked, walking up to Sif. "She is human, from Earth." He realized.

Maggie turned to glance at Thor's father before shyly looking away.

"This is Lady Margaret." Thor explained. "She is the child of my friends Lady Natasha and Lord Steven."

"They helped Thor defeat Loki and the Chituari years ago." Sif added.

"Ah." Odin said. He then got closer to Maggie. "Do not fear, child, I shall do you no harm."

Maggie looked at him, but still held her arms tightly wrapped around Sif's neck.

"Lady Margaret, this is Odin, the father of Thor." Sif explained softly. "Can you say 'hello'?"

Maggie then remembered him from the stories and smiled. "Uncle Thor told me stories about you." She said.

"Has he now?" Odin replied with a gentle smile. "Why have you accompanied him to Asgard?"

"I kinda snuck away from my parents and held onto Uncle Thor when he went through the portal." Maggie explained sheepishly. "Mama and Daddy said I wasn't old enough to travel across realms with Uncle Thor yet but I couldn't wait any longer! I really, really wanted to come."

"Asgard will welcome you any time you come, and we will celebrate your presence with a great feast." Odin assured her. "But given the circumstances, you should return to Earth, to your family."

Maggie nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Odin. Uncle Thor, can you take me home?"

"Of course." Thor complied, taking the seven year old into his arms and holding her tight.

"Bye, Siffy. Bye, Mr. Odin." Maggie began, then lit up. "Wait!"

"What is wrong, my child?" Odin asked.

"Can Siffy and I... be pen pals?" Maggie asked, looking at all three adults.

"What is this 'pen pal' you speak of?" Sif asked, interested.

"It means since we live far away from each other, we send letters and stuff to each other! And we can send each other stuff by giving it to Uncle Thor when he comes to Earth or comes to Asgard!" Maggie explained.

Thor decided to clarify to the two other Asgardians. "Lady Margaret will write a note addressed to you, Sif, and I will act as a messenger and deliver it to you in Asgard. Then you will write a note in reply, and I will take it and deliver it to her when I return to Midgard. Then Lady Margaret will write you again and the cycle continues."

"That sounds wonderful, Lady Margaret." Sif said, agreeing to the idea. "As soon as you return home, write a note so Thor can bring it back when he returns."

Maggie nodded excitedly. "Okay Siffy!"

"We better depart now, then. I shall return later." Thor said. He held onto Maggie tightly. After Heimdall opened Birfrost, the duo traveled through the portal.

* * *

"MAGGIE!" Came everyone's surprised and fearful voices as they ran over to the demi-god, who passed the young girl off to her parents.

"Mama, Daddy, I'm so sorry!" Maggie cried, hugging them tightly.

"Margaret Romanova Rogers, you can never do that again!" Natasha spoke sternly, hugging the young girl tightly to her torso. Steve wrapped his arms protectively around mother and daughter.

"Kid, you are in serious trouble! We all nearly had heart attacks!" Clint scolded, standing next to the two redheads.

"I actually tried going after you in my suit!" Tony added.

"Thank you, Thor." Steve said, looking up at the Asgardian. "We are so sorry she did that. I hope she didn't cause too much trouble..."

"All is well, Lord Steven. Lady Margaret has learned her lesson." Thor reported. "She learned she mustn't disobey her parents ever again."

Tony laughed. "I'll give her a few hours before she does something to drive us all up the wall again."

Then Maggie gasped. "Wait! I gotta write a letter!" She exclaimed, squirming in her mother's arms. "Siffy is my pen pal now and Thor is gonna give her my letter tonight!"

Natasha wondered if "confiscating" her new pen pal privileges would be a suitable punishment right now. She decided not to, as it sounded as if Maggie already promised Sif a letter and the young girl was probably traumatized and upset enough from her experience.

"Alright, hurry and get a pencil and paper to write a short letter for Siffy." Natasha ordered, placing the young girl on the ground. "You have ten minutes, tops!" She called after the young girl, who got Pepper to go with her and find the necessary materials.

"Lady Natasha, are you alright?" Thor asked, concerned for his friend, as he noticed she was still shaking and had tears in her eyes.

"I'm fine now... But that was terrifying. Never before did I think she would try to do that." Natasha explained, her voice still shaking with emotion.

"That was scarier than any mission I've been on, or any battle I've fought." Steve admitted and everyone agreed.

"I apologize if I glorified Asgard too much for Lady Margaret." Thor replied. "I never intended for her to directly go against your command."

"It's okay, Thor, it's not your fault." Steve said.

A few minutes later, Maggie and Pepper ran back out with a handwritten note and drawing for Sif. She handed the papers to Thor.

"I did it! I'm still learning how to write a lot of stuff so Aunt Pepper helped me! And I don't know if Siffy can read or write English but I know you can now so hopefully she will understand!" Maggie quickly explained.

"I will deliver it, I promise." Thor replied and drew her into a short hug. "Farewell, Lady Margaret."

After the hug, Maggie stood back with the rest of her family. She was flanked by her parents, who each held one of her hands. Everyone else stood behind them but was ready to jump into action if said child tried to stow away again.

"I love you to Asgard!" Maggie called out.

"And back!" Thor called in reply, and then took off, and went through the portal back to Asgard.

* * *

"Now, then, we are going to have a serious talk." Steve said sternly as everyone walked back inside. "You totally stepped out of line today, Maggie."

"I know." She said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"We accept your apology." Natasha then entered the conversation. "However, you also must apologize to Aunt Pepper, Uncle Tony, Uncle Clint, and Uncle Brucie, because they were also very worried about you."

"And no playing at the park this weekend." Steve added to her punishment. "Have you learned your lesson?"

Maggie nodded quietly.

"Good." Natasha commented, before opening her arms. "Now can I have a hug?"

Maggie practically threw herself into Natasha's arms. "I'm sorry." She mumbled into her mother's shoulder as she started crying again.

"It's okay, we forgive you." Natasha said gently, rubbing her daughter's back comfortingly. "You're okay."

A minute later, Steve crouched down next to the mother and daughter, and opened his arms as he also requested a hug. Maggie once again complied immediately.

"I missed you." She cried into Steve's shoulder.

"I missed you, too." He replied softly. "Everyone did."

After everyone else shared a hug and short words with the young girl, Natasha and Steve sent Maggie to go get her bag from her room.

"Alright, we are finally leaving." Steve sighed, exhausted from that evening's events. "Thanks again for the stay, Stark." He thanked Tony, giving him a hug.

"You know it's no problem, man, and it's my pleasure. I love seeing the Black Widow mini-me." Tony joked, before hugging Natasha goodbye.

"This was definitely one of our craziest stays." Natasha replied dryly.

After formal goodbyes were exchanged between the small family and the other occupants of Stark Tower, the two Avengers and child left for the airport. It was time to go home.

* * *

"Mama?" Maggie sleepily asked as her mom carried her through the front door of their DC home.

"Shhh, just go back to sleep, Лапушка , we are home now and I'll put you in your bed." Natasha whispered as she walked towards Maggie's room.

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy tonight?" Maggie asked softly. "Just tonight..." The seven year old had truly missed her parents during her trip to Asgard.

"Okay." Natasha replied, turning towards hers and Steve's room and placing Maggie down on the bed. "Steve, can you grab some jammies for Maggie?" She quietly asked as he walked down the hall.

"Sure, I'll be there in a sec." He replied, grabbing one of her Captain America sets of pajamas with a smirk and walking back to their room. "Here."

"Hilarious." Natasha rolled her eyes and quickly changed Maggie. Within a few minutes, all three were in bed together.

"Nighty night." Maggie yawned, half awake.

"Nighty night." Both Avengers softly replied before everyone gave into their exhaustion.

* * *

"She created all of this with the intent of giving it to me?" Sif couldn't help but ask Thor after they read the short letter and examined the drawing.

"Aye. She cares deeply for you, Sif." Thor replied, reading the note through again.

It had been short because of the time limit Maggie had, and she was still learning a lot about reading and writing. The note simply said, "_Dear Siffy, I love you. Thank you for being nice to me in Asgard. Please come visit me soon. I hope you like my drawing. Love, Lady Margaret._"

The drawing had been something Maggie had done a few weeks before. It was a simple drawing of herself and Sif, with their names labeling the two figures at the bottom of the page. For a seven year old, Maggie managed to have pretty good art, as she loved to draw just like her father.

"I will begin my reply tomorrow." Sif said with a smile to her longtime friend.

"I'm sure any reply of yours will surely captivate her." Thor assured her.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you all enjoyed; sorry if it didn't live up to your expectations about a one-shot that involved Asgard! The only instances I've witnessed Sif's personality was in _Thor_ and an episode of _Agents of_ S.H.I.E.L.D., so she could be OOC. See you all next time~ 


	10. Startling Missions

**A/N: **Not sure how I feel about this one. The river of creativity and writing muse in me has been running a bit dry lately. D: Must be the stress from these last few weeks of school. So people could be OOC and the world could be dying in this installment. (Okay, maybe not the last one but ya get my drift) This oneshot kinda hovers in different time periods, which you will see when you read. :P Thanks for all the nice reviews, faves, and follows~!

* * *

Natasha Romanoff smirked when she heard the patter of tiny feet against the ground behind her as the eight year old tried to quickly sneak up on her.

"Лапушка, I heard you coming from a mile away." The redhead teased just as Maggie was about to lay her small hands on her mother's back to surprise her.

"Darn it!" The girl exclaimed. Natasha turned around to face her daughter.

"You can never sneak up on me, sorry." She said proudly as she crouched down to meet Maggie's height. "Daddy, however... You can probably scare him."

The pouting girl's eyes lit up brightly with the idea. "You're right! Since he's not a spy, he'll _never _hear me coming!" Maggie laughed proudly. "I'm gonna go sneak up on him!" she called and she ran out of the room.

_He may not be a spy, but with all the noise she's making, he'll probably hear her coming from a mile away, too. _Natasha smiled in amusement.

* * *

Even as time went on, Maggie never ceased in her efforts to-as she put it-"out-spy" her mother by sneaking up on her. However, she still had yet to succeed.

"Not gonna work." Natasha called without looking up from the file she was reading at her desk in the Triskelion.

"Oh, come on!" She heard the ten year old exclaim from behind her. "How could you hear me in a room full of people?!"

"I have eyes in the back of my head." Natasha replied. She paused. "I know you're making a face at me right now."

"At least I made Uncle Tony scream like a little girl..." Maggie muttered and Natasha laughed.

* * *

"SUR-"

"I knew you were laying in wait just around the corner of the hall, Лапушка." Natasha said as she continued down the hall past her awestruck daughter.

"_How_ do you do that?!" The 12 year old exclaimed.

"What have I been telling you? I have eyes in the back of my head, remember?" The Avenger teased in reply as Maggie followed behind her.

"Uncle Brucie said that is scientifically impossible."

"Well, Uncle Brucie isn't a mother, so he wouldn't know." Natasha replied. "Besides, out of the all the things we've encountered before, a person with a set of eyes on the back of their head would be far from the weirdest thing I've seen."

"I guess that's true." Maggie shrugged. "But someday, somehow, Mama, I'm gonna scare you."

"You've scared me plenty of times before, Лапушка, like when you stowed away on Uncle Thor's leg to go to Asgard-"

"Hey, I was just an adventurous seven year old!"

* * *

"_Ms. Rogers, your mother is coming up now._" Jarvis informed the teen.

"Thanks, Jarvis!" Maggie called as she looked up from the letter she was currently working on for Thor to give to Sif. She set the paper and pen down, ducking behind the counter.

"Kid, you know that isn't gonna work." Clint laughed from his seat on the couch.

"I know, but I will not give up!"

"Whatever you say."

After a minute of silence, Natasha emerged from the elevator. "Hey, Maggie, hey, Clint." she said absentmindedly as she set her stuff down.

"It's just me, Nat." Clint tried to assist his goddaughter.

"I know she's waiting to pop out behind that counter over there; her letter to Sif is still sitting there."

Clint sighed. "Sorry, kid, looks like your plot has been compromised." he called.

"Dang it!" Maggie groaned as she jumped up. "There's gotta be somewhere you won't expect me!"

"If anything, having you around has helped me expect to see your face pop up anywhere at any time." Natasha teased in reply. Maggie simply made a face.

* * *

Somehow, Tony Stark had managed to convince the rest of the tower's occupants, minus Bruce and Maggie, into watching horror movies in the late hours of the night. The group currently sat huddled together in front of the TV, leaving no more room on the couch or floor.

Bruce and Maggie had opted out because neither were huge fans of horror movies. They decided to go and kill time out in the city for a few hours, as many things in New York were open 24/7.

"Man, IHOP left me so full." Maggie groaned as she entered the tower's elevator with Bruce. "I don't think I could eat for a year."

"You're always hungry, I'm sure you'll be over it in a few hours." Bruce joked in reply.

The teen looked down at her cell phone. "I texted my parents saying we were coming back, but neither of them replied. Are they _still _watching scary movies?" she wondered aloud.

"Possibly. Your Uncle Clint and Uncle Tony are probably having some competition to see who can last the longest and dragged everyone else into it." Bruce replied.

"I bet. They seem to have a lot of 'man pride' battles these days." Maggie laughed as they reached their floor. They walked out of the elevator and were met with a room only lit by the huge TV screen.

The audience in front of the TV seemed to be absorbed in what they were watching, as they didn't acknowledge the teen and doctor's arrival. Maggie smirked and tiptoed behind the couch, looming over the adults. She saw the movie was dragging out the anticipation of a jump scene, and shuffled over to the side of the group. Right as the scene hit its climax, she leapt in front of the TV. "Hi, guys!"

This spawned mass panic in the group. Popcorn went flying and people fell off the couch. Others made a move for their weapons and Bruce, still standing off to the side of the room, flipped on the lights. "Guys, it's just us!" he laughed as Maggie watched everyone realize what was happening. Tony managed to find the remote and pause the movie.

"God, kid, _never_ do that again!" Tony panted, holding a hand over his chest dramatically.

"Jesus." Clint muttered, lying back down on the ground. Everyone else tried to recover and get their heart rates back down to normal.

"You scared me, Лапушка-"

As soon as the words were out of the spy's mouth, everyone turned to stare at her in shock. Maggie's mission to startle mother had finally been accomplished.

"Yes! I knew I could do it!" The teen jumped up and down happily. "I startled and surprised the Black Widow!"

"Damn horror movies." Natasha grumbled with a frown.

"Good job, Mags, but for the record, you nearly gave me a heart attack as well." Steve said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry guys, didn't mean for you all to get caught in the crossfire." Maggie stated as the realization dawned on her and she waved her hands apologetically.

"That's okay, I think that's enough horror movies for the night, anyway." Pepper yawned.

"You're such a good sport, Aunt Pepper! Uncle Tony could learn from you."

"Hey!"

"It's true, though."

"Capsicle, you shouldn't be agreeing with your daughter, you should be telling her to be more polite!"

"Sorry, Stark. Mags, respect your elders."

"Hey, you're one to talk!"

Everyone laughed at the bickering heroes as Natasha walked over to her triumphant and happy daughter, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"So, I guess you are more of a spy than a soldier then, huh?" She asked the teen.

"I suppose so, though I like to think I have the best of both worlds." Maggie replied with a toothy grin.

"What will you do now that your mission is complete?"

"Well, just 'cause I completed the main objective doesn't mean I still can't do it when I want to! Keep your eyes open at all times, Mama, 'cause I'm just getting started." She warned teasingly.

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Natasha laughed.


	11. Miracle in the Making

**A/N: **Gah, long time no update, I know! D: School's been killing me! I've been trying to get this oneshot right for almost a month now, and considering its length, I hope this will tie you all over for the next week and a half or so. Finals, man.

Consider this installment a Mother's Day Special! :P (Of course, USA Mother's Day, I mean, cuz I don't think it has a universal set date so yah)

Disclaimer—the opinions of Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff on the subject of names does not reflect the author Pikapegasus in any way; they are simply meant to add comedy to the story. :3

* * *

"_Steve!_"

Steve Rogers came quickly into the bathroom at Natasha Romanoff's upset call. "Nat, what's wrong?" He asked, panicked.

"_This!_" Natasha exclaimed, shoving a weird looking object with two parallel lines appearing on the small screen into Steve's hands.

Steve examined it for a moment, before giving up. "I don't understand..."

Natasha rolled her eyes, remembering home pregnancy tests came after Steve's freezing. "It means I'm pregnant!" she hastily explained.

"Pre-WHAT?!" Steve exclaimed in shock. "How can this thing tell you for sure?!" He looked at the stick again, turning it in his hands.

"It's a home pregnancy test. It uses the woman's urine and determines if she's pregnant or not." She explained. Steve frowned a bit at the realization that he was holding something that had just been inserted in urine; Natasha rolled her eyes. "Since there are those two lines, that means I'm pregnant."

"Are... Are you _sure_?" Steve couldn't help but repeat.

"Yeah, I took two other tests as well." The spy replied, handing him two other sticks yielding the same results.

"So... What now?" The soldier couldn't help but ask.

"Now... I don't know." Natasha admitted.

"Here, let's go sit on the couch and discuss this." Steve offered, still in complete shock, and the two Avengers left the bathroom and entered the living room.

"So... What is there to discuss now?" Steve asked, not knowing how different pregnancies in the 21st century would be.

"Well, the first thing is if we should keep it. This wasn't planned at all…I never even knew I could get pregnant, after…" Natasha's voice trailed off with a sigh. Steve figured she was thinking of the Red Room. "Our options include keeping it and raising it ourselves, giving it up for adoption once it's born, or abortion."

"Abortion?" Steve echoed.

"Yeah, getting rid of it before it's born."

"Well I think both of us can agree on not doing that." This baby was a piece of both Natasha and Steve, he reflected, but she didn't appear to be interested. In fact, because of Natasha's past, Steve honestly believed this child was a miracle. _  
_

"It's still fairly early in the pregnancy, I'm assuming, so nothing is for sure yet. Plus with our jobs, I don't know if it can survive the toll missions take on my body." This sounded much more like the cold Black Widow than the human Natasha Romanoff to Steve.

He thought she would be happier about the fact she managed to conceive a child. "I'm sure once Fury knows-"

"Fury can't know!"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be treated differently, like I need to be coddled or cared for more! I can handle my own."

"Natasha, it isn't just you anymore."

"All I'm saying is we can go schedule an appointment and get an ultrasound to know for real, and then after that it's up to fate if this baby makes it through all nine months."

"Nat, being pregnant doesn't make you weak or invalid-"

"Exactly! So why should I have to do anything differently at work? Why can't I keep doing what I'm doing?"

"Well maybe you can handle it, but I don't know if the baby can handle the stress of it all..."

* * *

Natasha sighed as she sat in the passenger side of the car while Steve got into the driver's seat. They had just wrapped up their appointment.

"...All of that technology was impressive. I guess it's for real now." Steve decided to break the ice.

"Yeah..." Natasha said, zoning out.

"So... Back to the topic of keeping it or giving it up..." He really wished it wasn't a question, but he respected the fact it was up to Natasha in the end.

"Well, I won't abort it for sure. I want to give this baby a chance to make it through these nine months."

Steve let out the breath he was holding, relieved. "For what it's worth, I think we should keep it."

"How can we do that with our jobs, though, Steve?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we will figure out a way."

Natasha was now silent, thinking.

"Do you really not want to keep it?" Steve asked quietly.

"I just... I don't know if I can be a mother..."

"I'm sure you'll be a great mother." Steve replied, placing his hand over hers. "I also have no clue how to be a father. But I know that we are some of the world's greatest superheroes and can do anything when we work together. Surely that includes learning how to raise a child?"

"I don't know, Steve, parenting is a totally different ball game."

"Guess we will play it by ear then."

* * *

The first trimester seemed to speed by for the two Avengers. No one else knew about the pregnancy yet, as, thankfully, Natasha barely had morning sickness or other obvious signs.

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she indeed found herself getting attached to the human growing inside of her. Natasha also found herself wondering what the child would look like. Would it have her emerald green eyes, or Steve's baby blue ones? Would it have her fiery red hair, or Steve's bright blonde hair?

Steve could tell Natasha was starting to warm up to the idea of them having a family, even though she never admitted it. He was all for the idea.

In the field, Natasha at first didn't act any differently before her pregnancy. But she soon started realizing safer ways to get the same job done, especially since Steve was almost always sticking himself like glue to her, which frustrated her a lot. Fury was starting to get suspicious, so the two Avengers came to an agreement of Natasha being more careful and taking less risks on missions.

When everything was all clear and the baby was reported as being 100% healthy during their last checkup of the first trimester, Natasha couldn't help but smile. Their baby was already a fighter, just like his or her parents.

"So, we are through the first trimester, and the most unsure part." Steve said as they drove home. "Now what?"

Natasha sighed, laying her head back against the seat and putting a hand over her abdomen. "Now we hope I don't start showing soon."

"Come on, Nat, we should tell Fury. And our friends! They'll be excited."

"I don't know, Steve, there's still a lot that can go wrong with this pregnancy."

"If you get hurt in the field, then, yeah. But that's why we should tell Fury!"

"He would probably fire us!"

"Then you don't have to worry about getting hurt and losing the baby in the field." Steve muttered, half to himself.

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"But I'm already being extra careful in the field!"

"Please, Natasha." Steve pleaded, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

Natasha huffed in frustration and rolled her eyes; she was never able to resist his pleading. "Fine, we can tell Fury tomorrow. But only him!"

Steve was sad they weren't telling the rest of their friends yet but he was happier that maybe this could improve Natasha's safety in the field.

* * *

"That went better than I expected." Steve said as they walked out of the Triskelion after meeting with Fury.

"Yeah, though he was pretty pissed at first! I thought he would have our asses for sure this time." Natasha recalled.

"At least he seemed to get over his initial shock and anger quickly before congratulating us and wishing us the best." Steve replied. "Though Fury has questionable objectives sometimes, he actually is a good guy. And we will now get more specialists on missions so you don't have to fight as much."

"I knew it would make me look weak!"

"Nat, Fury just wants to protect the baby, just like I do. That's why he's sending more people out with us. He knows you can handle your own but the baby can't so that's why we need the extra help." Steve tried to reason with Natasha for the millionth time.

Seeing as this conversation would get them nowhere, Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes before saying, "Whatever."

* * *

When Natasha was nearing her fifth month, she was starting to show and had a slightly noticeable baby bump. She tried wearing bigger clothes to work to throw people off, but she still spent the majority of her time in her leather suit. Rumors were rapidly spreading around S.H.I.E.L.D. about a "baby Avenger."

One day when Natasha and Steve were relaxing in their small house, there was a knock at the door.

Steve jogged over to the door and opened it. What he found astonished him. "Guys... What are you doing here?"

"Who is it, Steve?" Natasha called, not looking up from her book.

"Only the greatest people you will ever know!" Tony announced grandly as he strode into their home with Pepper, Bruce, and Clint in tow.

Steve closed the door behind the guests and followed them into the living room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

The four guests all looked among themselves to designate who should speak. Soon, Tony found three pairs of eyes on him.

"Alright." Tony began. "We have been hearing rumors."

"Oh, great." Steve said with a roll of the eyes.

"Let me finish, Capsicle." Tony put a hand up in front of Steve. "People are coming to us and asking us if rumors of a 'baby Avenger' are true. Which, taking a head count, can only be born from you two, seeing as no one else is female on this team, or expecting a baby with their significant other." He paused. "Right, Pepper?"

Pepper sighed. "Tony, we went over this already, I'm not pregnant."

"The lady has spoken." Tony said, gesturing to Pepper. "So that leaves the Capsicle and Spidey over here." He gestured to the couple who owned the house.

Steve glanced at Natasha, giving her the choice of how to handle the situation.

"Come on, Nat, just be honest with us." Clint tried. "Because if there is a baby coming then I need to prepare to be the best uncle ever."

"Last time I thought you lied to me, I freaked out and you pointed a gun at me." Bruce recalled their encounter in Calcutta. "So maybe things will go better this time."

Natasha sighed, not able to make eye contact with her friends. "I'm almost five months pregnant." She admitted quietly.

"Whoop, there it is." Tony commented. After receiving a murderous glare from Natasha, he commented further. "Someone seems a bit hormonal."

"Someone please remove the iron idiot from the situation since he can't control himself." Natasha growled with another murderous glare, prompting Pepper to pull the loud-mouthed billionaire out of the house by the ear.

"Tony never knows when to stop." Steve said with an angry sigh.

"No he does not." Clint commented, making his way to sit next to his best friend on the couch. "So, there's a little soldier or spy growing in there right now?" He asked, gesturing to her small bump.

"Yup." Natasha answered, barely able to contain some joy from her face. This didn't go unnoticed by all the men in the room. "I honestly thought he or she wouldn't last this long since Cap and I go on so many dangerous missions all the time."

"Well, it looks like you've been taking care of yourself better out in the field, then." Bruce commented happily, causing Steve to laugh.

"Barely! It took me two months of constantly sticking by her side and protecting her in missions to convince her to do that." Steve commented.

"I can take your word for it." Clint laughed at Steve's comment.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Alright, boys, that's enough-" she cut off her sentence as she felt a little flutter in her stomach, which prompted her hand to go there immediately.

"Nat, are you okay?" Steve asked worriedly, rushing to her side with Bruce.

"Yeah, yeah... I just... I think I felt the baby kick!" She answered with a big toothy grin. In that moment, the cold and pessimistic demeanor she had been putting on over the pregnancy was gone; her face glowed with her true excitement.

"Really?!" Steve answered happily, placing a hand over the bump. Soon, he too felt a little flutter of feet colliding with the side of the womb. "Wow, that's amazing." He said, awestruck.

Soon Clint and Bruce also took turns feeling for it as well, prompting the latter to list off pregnancy facts and other tips for the two Avengers to monitor the pregnancy by themselves. After they chatted for a while, Pepper stuck her head back into the room.

"Tony wants to know if he can come off time out now." She stated.

"Sure, hopefully he's learned his lesson." Natasha replied.

Pepper soon reappeared with Tony by her side. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked her childish lover.

"I'm sorry for making you mad, Tasha." He sighed in defeat.

"Good." Natasha said with a smile. "It appears that your leave was good, because in that time, the baby started to kick for the first time!"

"That's great, Natasha!" Pepper said happily.

"Yeah, fantastic, now then, if we all have to take shifts babysitting I will take mine in twenty years when the kid is hopefully independent and out of diapers." Tony stated, laying down his ground rules.

"Whatever, Tony, I don't think I could trust you alone with our child anyway." Steve replied with a roll of his eyes.

"That makes two of us." Natasha commented as she felt another flutter in her stomach. "Oh, sorry, I meant three." Everyone erupted in laughter.

* * *

Now that Natasha was enjoying the pregnancy to its full extent openly, people just simply congratulated her and then left her alone. For that, the Black Widow was thankful.

At home, the two Avengers started to try and decide on names. They looked through baby books and online constantly.

"For a girl, how about Madison?" Steve offered from the book he was reading.

"Too popular." Natasha waved it off. "For a boy, how about Winston?"

"Too old fashioned." Steve replied, causing Natasha to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Um, how about the fact that that comment just came from you, Captain America!" She laughed.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Steve replied with a smirk.

"Robert."

"Jessica."

"Matthew."

"Abigail."

"John."

"Talk about 'too common'!"

"Focus, Steve!"

"Diana."

"Spencer."

"Emily."

"James."

"Jennifer."

"Tony."

As soon as Natasha read the name off the list she said, "Oh, hell no."

"_That,_ I can agree with you on." Steve chuckled before the two returned to their research.

* * *

At her 20 week appointment, Natasha and Steve found out they would be having a girl.

"So now we focus on girl names." Steve said as they walked through the front door of their home.

Natasha sat down, thinking about an idea she had earlier during the appointment. She decided to go for it.

"How about Margaret?" She offered quietly, not knowing how Steve would take it.

Steve froze where he was and slowly turned back to face Natasha. "Margaret... Like, Peggy?" He replied quietly.

Natasha nodded. "I mean, we don't have to call her 'Peggy' too, but her name still can be Margaret, in honor of her." She replied.

Steve thought for a moment. "How about we call her 'Maggie' for short?" He offered, sitting down next to Natasha.

"Maggie." Natasha said, testing it out. At that moment, there was a strong flutter of movement and kicking from her abdomen. She smiled and put a hand over her stomach. "I think the baby likes it, too."

"Maggie Rogers it is then." Steve commented happily. Then, "Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

After kissing her on the cheek, Steve left the room to go in the kitchen and start lunch. Natasha called after him, "Now we have to agree on a middle name!" She smirked as she received a groan in reply.

* * *

"Steeeeeveeee."

"..."

"Steeeevvveeeeee."

"...Hng, what...?"

"I'm hungry."

Steve opened his eyes and looked at the bedside clock. It read 3:38 AM.

"Can't it wait until breakfast in a few hours?" Steve groaned, closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

Natasha leaned over him and pried his eyes open. "Your daughter wants chocolate chip pancakes right now." She informed him.

"You mean _you _want chocolate chip pancakes right now."

"I wouldn't want chocolate chip pancakes right now if it weren't for your daughter growing in my stomach."

Steve sighed, knowing Natasha most likely wouldn't give up. "Alright, I'm up." He said sleepily, sitting up and yawning. "I'll go make your pancakes." He got out of the bed and stood up.

"Thanks, Steve." Natasha said with a big grin before giving him a grateful peck on the lips.

"Uh-huh, you're welcome, Ms. Cravings." Steve sighed, prompting Natasha to throw a pillow at him as he shuffled out of the room and towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Steve, do I look fat?" Natasha asked, concerned, as she examined herself in her work outfit in a body length mirror. Her baby bump had increased quite a bit as she was entering her 7th month of pregnancy.

Steve turned around to face her. "No, you look fine."

"_Only _'fine'?"

"You look beautiful, Nat."

"Now you're just saying that!"

"Natasha, you're the most beautiful girl in the world."

"Aww, that's so sweet, Steve."

_Crisis averted. _Steve mentally patted himself on the back, as he had been careful to tiptoe around Natasha because of her constantly changing emotions.

"Ugh, I still can't believe I can't go with you on missions anymore." Natasha then spoke up.

"It's been like this for the past month and half, Nat, it's nothing new." Steve replied. Ever since Natasha really started showing, she would be assigned jobs that kept her out of the line of fire.

"But what if something happens to you while _you're _out in the field without _me _to watch over you?" Natasha protested, turning to face Steve.

Steve walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her on the top of her head. "I'll be extra careful, I promise." He said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"How can I know for sure?" Natasha said into his chest.

"Because I want to be there when Maggie comes. Think of raising her as a mission; it's a mission that I want to see through." Steve assured her.

Natasha sighed, before saying, "Okay."

After they pulled apart, they departed their home for the Triskelion for another day at work.

* * *

It was now April of the following year, and Maggie was expected to come any day now.

Because of this, both Avengers got to remain at home for a few weeks, as Fury assured them they could handle all the missions themselves for a little while.

"Seriously, Romanoff, I don't want you popping that baby out in my building." Fury had said. "You are getting the entire month of April off."

"Come on, Fury, surely a woman giving birth isn't the scariest thing you've seen?" Natasha teased in reply, though her eyes expressed her gratitude. It was getting harder to walk around all day.

"When _you're _the woman, hell yeah it is." Fury replied. "Cap, you are to stay home with her and keep her under house arrest so she doesn't do anything stupid."

Natasha mocked a shocked and hurt expression as Steve laughed. "Yes, sir."

That brought the two superheroes to where they were now—one of many lazy days off.

On April 18th, a few hours into their day, Natasha felt her water break as she walked into the kitchen.

"Steve...!" She called out hesitantly.

"Nat, are you okay?" Steve replied as he ran over, able to detect the worry in Natasha's voice.

"I think my water just broke." She said exasperatedly, looking down at the puddle at her feet. Natasha was still in her pajamas, which currently consisted over over-sized T-shirts and night gowns because of her huge belly.

"...Damn right." Steve said as he examined the scene. "I'll go grab some towels, you stay right here and then we will get in the car and drive to the hospital."

* * *

Steve barely obeyed the speed limit as he drove Natasha to the hospital. When they were about halfway there, she informed him she was feeling contractions. He decided to focus on driving there as fast as possible while she tried to time the contractions.

As they got to the hospital, the nurses guided the couple to a room. Within an hour of lying there, Natasha's contractions got worse and she held Steve's hand in a death grip.

"I'm the Black Widow, for Christ's sake! I've been through pain just like this..." Natasha tried to convince herself she could handle the pain initially, but her tough facade only broke as the pain increased as time went on.

"I really want this to be over already... Damn it, Steve! This is your fault!" Natasha yelled angrily, along with some other cruder comments. Steve just tried to focus on supporting her and giving her words of reassurance, though she honestly scared him to death a few times.

* * *

"You did it, Nat, you did it." Steve said, choked up, as he held the small bundle with a pink cap. Maggie came out crying loudly, which cracked up the soldier. Now she was sleeping soundly. He handed the baby to the tired Natasha.

"Yeah... I did..." Natasha said, exhausted, as she cradled the baby up against her chest. "Hi, Maggie, I'm your mom." She said softly, getting choked up.

Steve smiled at the scene in front of him. After a few quiet minutes, a nurse came in and announced they have guests. Natasha looked up as the rest of the Avengers, even Thor, and Pepper walked in and took up the rest of the space in the room, holding gift bags, flowers, toys, chocolate, and balloons.

"Whoa, how did you guys get here so fast?" Steve asked, still smiling.

"Man of iron flew us here in his large aircraft." Thor explained.

"Luckily none of us were gone on missions or crazy vacations." Clint added. He then looked at the bundle Natasha was holding. "She's so small! What's her name?"

"Margaret Romanova Rogers." Natasha answered happily, captivated with her small daughter. "But we call her Maggie for short."

"Lady Margaret shall eternally be under Asgardian protection, M'lady." Thor assured Natasha.

"Thanks, Thor." Natasha answered with a huge smile.

"Good job, Capsicle." Tony congratulated Steve, walking over to him and giving him a pat on the back. "That kid is going to do great things someday."

"Thanks, Tony." Steve said with an earnest smile.

Bruce now stepped next to the bed and looked over mother and daughter. "You both look healthy from what I can see. Though I wonder if the super soldier serum in Cap will affect her at all." He wondered aloud.

Steve and Natasha both looked worried. "Do you think it'll make something bad happen?" The former asked the doctor, concerned.

"I don't think anything bad will happen." Bruce replied. "But she might have some of the benefits you have, Cap, like great stamina or strength."

"Guess we will have to watch and find out." Natasha sighed, looking down at her daughter, surprised to find small blue eyes looking up at her. "She's awake!" She said happily.

The superheroes cooed over her and took turns holding her, and Pepper handed Maggie back to her mother as Steve got everyone's attention.

"Okay, so, Nat and I have already decided on Maggie's godparents." He began.

"But," Natasha cut in, "I want Maggie to grow up knowing all of you, and our other close friends and colleagues, as her family—her crazy uncles and aunts."

"She was definitely born into the right family if she wanted that." Bruce commented with a smirk, causing everyone to laugh.

"Alright, Clint, Pepper, would you be Maggie's godparents?" Steve finally asked.

Two said people looked at each other in surprise, before looking at the new happy parents.

"Really?" Pepper asked, shocked, at the same time Clint asked, "For real?"

"Yes." Natasha answered in reply, then turned towards Tony. "Though, I'm assuming you'll be the one to spoil her, since you're the rich one here." She groaned.

"I accept my duty humbly, and I will spoil her rotten." Tony said, placing a hand over his heart.

"Please don't." Steve sighed.

"Sorry, Capsicle, it's my job to be a crazy uncle." Tony smirked in reply.

* * *

After a few days in the hospital, the now family of three returned to their small home. The rest of the Avengers and Pepper had left them to give them some time to get things settled at home.

Thanks to the enormous amount of gifts their friends had left for them, Maggie would have enough clothes for a long time.

"Welcome home, Лапушка." Natasha said as she placed the carrier holding the newborn down on the ground, sitting next to her.

"Лапушка?" Steve echoed, in between several trips of bringing all the stuff in from the car.

"Yes, it means 'sweetheart'; I'm Russian so I might as well put it to some use." Natasha replied with a smile.

A few minutes later, Steve finished bringing in all the stuff. "Finally." He said with a sigh of exhaustion and sat down next to Natasha on the ground, watching their daughter take in the new surroundings.

"So." Natasha said with a smile. "We are parents for real now."

"Indeed we are. Our little miracle in the making is here." Steve replied happily. "And it feels amazing."

"Keep saying that and then change some poopy diapers. After that come back and tell me how you feel." The spy teased as they watched Maggie's eyes blink sleepily before she finally gave into sleep.

"I'll try to make the most of it." The soldier chuckled.

* * *

"And we all lived happily ever after. The end." Steve finished, kissing nine year old Maggie on the top of her head as she closed her eyes finally let sleep overcome her.

"Goodnight, Mags. I love you." He draped the blankets over her just up to her shoulders before shutting off the light and leaving her room.

* * *

**A/N: **I think we can all agree that I'm not good at writing going into labor/still in hospital after giving birth scenes XP I also feel bad cuz it seems like I always write Pepper as someone on the sidelines, even though she's Maggie's godmother! Bah! I must write some nice fluff with them soon! On a side note, Tony Stark is very fun to write dialogue for :3 Happy Mother's Day!


	12. Counting Stars

**A/N: **I should be studying for finals, I really should. BUT I'M NOT! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAH! (Well, okay, I will after posting this)

I started writing this one a few weeks ago, actually, and I added a "twist" in it that made it totally longer today. Doing said twist made me feel evil. Hehehe :3

Hope all the studying hasn't wrecked the creative/artistic/stuff that isn't school related side of my brain! Enjoy!

* * *

17 year old Maggie took a deep breath as she stepped foot into her father's exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

She was currently wearing a baseball cap with her fiery and wavy hair in a ponytail hanging out the back. Her wide framed glasses normally worn only in school also sat on her face, as she did not want to be recognized.

Of course everyone would immediately recognize the teen if she hadn't covered up; she was the child of two Avengers, after all.

Looking down and hiding her face as she walked through the room, she reminisced on the day's previous events.

* * *

_Maggie sat on the couch, mindlessly browsing the internet on her laptop as Pepper flipped through the channels on the TV. _

"_Guys, we got visitors." Tony's voice traveled into the room as he closed the front door. _

"'_Kay." Maggie replied, not paying attention. Her parents had left two days prior on a mission, and Tony and Pepper happened to be in DC at the time. It ended up being easier for the billionaire and his assistant to just stay at the Rogers home with the teen, as no one felt it was safe enough for her to stay home alone for days. Maggie didn't complain; she loved the company. _

"_Hey, kid." Clint strolled into the room, sitting down across from his goddaughter. Maggie looked up at him and noticed he looked a bit nervous. Before she could question him, Fury walked into the room. _

"_Uncle Nick? What are all of you guys doing here?" The teen questioned as she closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table. Her mind unconsciously made the connection that something was wrong. However, she was focusing all of her attention on the adults in the room. "Are Mama and Daddy back yet?" _

"_That's the thing, Maggie." Fury sighed as he sat down on the couch next to her. He grabbed her two hands and held them in his, momentarily marveling in how mature she had become. "Your parents are missing." _

"Missing?_" Maggie squeaked in reply. "N-No, they can't be… They said it was a simple mission to gather intel!" _

"_It was, but something went wrong and they were ambushed. The rest of the strike team made it back because your parents protected them, just like the heroes they are." Fury said gently. "We have reason to believe they are still alive and out there, Maggie. They were last seen alive, and we didn't find any of their blood on the scene." _

_Maggie's eyes welled up in tears and she ripped her eyes from the stare down they had been in with Fury's. _

"_Listen to me, kid." Clint spoke up, crossing the room and kneeling in front of her. "We will find them. They're still out there, I just know it." _

"_But what if they're not?" The redhead asked quietly. _

"_They are. They're too stubborn to just give up." Tony said, trying to lighten the mood. _

"_I can assure you that we are using every available resource to find them." Fury assured the young girl. He glanced over at Clint and Tony. "That will also include you two, so suit up." _

"_You don't have to tell me twice." Tony said. "I was going to go out there whether you assigned me, or not." _

"_Same." Clint agreed. _

_Maggie hadn't spoken a word for a few minutes and the adults figured she was trying to comprehend what was happening. The three men gathered their things and left after assuring her they would bring the two missing heroes back. Afterwards, Maggie informed Pepper she needed space and all but ran out of the house._

* * *

She had walked, run, then walked again, and occasionally texted Pepper to let her know she was still in one piece. Hours later, Maggie had found herself standing in front of the Air and Space Museum, with only one exhibit in mind.

The teen walked through the section on her father's past quickly, before arriving to a wall not far from the end of the exhibit. It was the section on her family.

Maggie ran her hand over part of the wall, which had been painted by her and a few of her artistic friends from school the year before as a birthday present for her father. It was a painting of herself and her parents, based on an old photo she had found of the three from when she was younger.

In the picture, they were happy and laughing, completely oblivious to the stress and evil of the world for a few simple moments. They bore wide smiles and stood close together, showing the closeness and intimacy of their small family. The bright colors soon mixed and blurred together as tears welled up once again.

Maggie sniffled, turning to another wall. This one had a brief description of her mother, the famous Black Widow. After the sole female Avenger released both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets on the Internet, her past was released and gave the museum something to write about her in the exhibit. The description was all positive, though, as her father fought to keep it that way.

Baby blue eyes poured into a reflection of themselves as Maggie looked at the wall dedicated to herself. Why the hell the museum had gone to all the trouble of including a description about a child who still had a lot of things to do in the future, the teen would never know.

She studied the numerous pictures of the Avengers, some of which she was meant to be in, others she had photobombed. A smirk played across her face at the playful memories.

Familiar footsteps sounded behind her, and she didn't comment as the owner of them stopped next to her. He wouldn't speak first; he had learned that she was her mother's daughter and would initiate the necessary conversation when she was ready.

"Uncle Sam." Maggie commented blankly. "I thought you would be out leading the search parties S.H.I.E.L.D. is sending out right now."

Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon after the help he lent the teen's parents to take down Hydra many years before, shrugged. "I thought I would be, too. 'Cept Fury sent me out here to make sure no one tried to pull any funny business on you." He replied.

"Please, I could take them." Maggie huffed as she gestured to the paragraph about herself. "Says right here I'm the only other person in the world to have the serum in me, so that's gotta count for something."

"Sounds like you've been spending a lot of time with your billionaire uncle." He commented with a chuckle.

"Playboy, billionaire, genius, philanthropist." The redhead recited.

"Something like that. How are you holding up?"

Maggie didn't answer at first. How was she _really? _She didn't even know, to be honest.

"Coping." She shrugged, but Sam knew it was much more than just "coping."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, they were just doing their job, being Earth's mightiest heroes…." She sighed and turned to face him. "How do you do it, Uncle Sam?" Maggie knew he had lost his best friend in the field back in the day. "How do you keep going?"

"That's just it. You keep moving forward. The pain never completely goes away, it just hurts less and less." Sam replied, meeting her frightened eyes. "However, your parents are expected to return. Just later than they were supposed to." He tried to reassure her.

It didn't work. "I don't want to get my hopes up."

He sighed. "Sometimes I think you are way too mature for your age."

"I might need that." And with that, Maggie whirled around and walked away. She left the exhibit.

* * *

Maggie closed the front door of the house as she returned. The sun was now setting, and she figured Pepper would want her back before nightfall.

Said assistant to Tony Stark had been in contact with Sam Wilson most of the time, who had been keeping tabs on the young redhead while she was out and about. Pepper patted the spot next to her on the couch as the teen strolled into the living room.

"How do you feel now?" The adult asked gently as Maggie sat down.

"Same."

"I see." Pepper paused, not sure how to converse with the usually chatty teen.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered her niece after a while.

Maggie didn't answer, but avoided Pepper's eyes.

"You don't have to hold it all in, Maggie, if that's what you're doing. 'Compartmentalization.' It's okay to cry." Pepper ventured out on a limb.

She knew that the teen idolized her parents and often strived to be like them. Of course, that included being able to bottle up her feelings like her mother had as the coldhearted Black Widow.

Maggie dragged her hands over her face stressfully.

Pepper sighed.

Then, "…Aunt Pepper?"

"Yeah?"

"…I'm scared." Maggie finally admitted, finally raising her tearful eyes to meet Pepper's concerned ones.

"Come here." Pepper soothed as she scooted closer with her arms open. The teen launched herself into them, and letting her emotions out for the first time since the announcement of her parents' missing status that day. She held her godmother tightly as she cried.

The two sat in silence, the only noise being Maggie's soft cries, for a good 20 minutes. When the only sound was just her the teen's sniffles, Pepper pulled back just enough so she could meet Maggie's eyes.

"I made cookies earlier, if you're interested." She offered.

"I think I am." Maggie managed to crack a small smile as she let go of Pepper and the two hurried into the kitchen to snack.

* * *

The redhead climbed up the tree that currently stood in their backyard. She climbed up to one of the highest branches, that was just a bit over the level of the roof of the house.

Maggie had climbed up to this branch with her mother many times in the past. It was a tradition they would partake in while her mother was gone on missions. It was simple: sit and watch the stars.

_"Mama, how many stars are there?" Eight year old Maggie asked as she sat next to her mother on the branch. _

_"Well, Лапушка, there's an infinite number of them. That means they're endless." The elder redhead answered. _

_Maggie squinted her eyes, as if she wasn't seeing the full picture. "But I don't see that many." _

_"We can't always see them, but they're always there. Sometimes they're too far away to be seen, or it's too bright here." _

_"Can Daddy see them?" The soldier had been gone on a mission for the past two days. _

_"Yup, no matter where you are on earth, there will be stars in the sky above you, even if you can't see them. Same with the moon and sun. It is something everyone will always be able to have in common." _

There weren't a bunch of stars visible, of course, because they lived in the nation's capital. But there were enough to know that they were still there. It was one of the few things she and her parents would have together while separated: the stars.

Sure, if they stood on different hemispheres, they would be looking at different stars. But, the sun was a star. And that was something anyone can see from anywhere, as long as it's day.

_Wherever you guys are, maybe you can see even more stars._

* * *

Pepper groaned as her phone rang on the bedside table in the middle of the night. She sleepily grabbed it and checked the caller ID with a yawn. Tony Stark.

"Tony, it's the middle of the night—"

"_We found them._"

The line was silent for a few moments as Pepper comprehended what was happening. She looked over at the sleeping form of Maggie lying next to her, and she remembered. It had been almost five days since the disappearance of Captain America and Black Widow, and Maggie was trying to cope. Pepper was trying her best to keep the teen's mind off the event, but they took it day by day. The duo was currently sharing the bed the two Avengers of the house slept in.

"What?" Was all Pepper managed to say after her mind finished waking up.

"_We found the Capsicle and Tasha, Pepper. They're okay, they're safe._"

"R-Really?" Pepper turned on the lamp next to her and Maggie shifted in her sleep.

"_Yes, we're coming back now. ETA at the Triskelion should be about an hour. The two parents want to see the munchkin._"

Maggie mumbled something as she turned towards Pepper and started to wake up. "Okay, she's waking up now. We'll be there." She informed Tony before hanging up.

"Maggie, sweetie, wake up." Pepper gently shook her goddaughter to quicken the pace. "We got to get to the Triskelion."

"Aunt Pepper?" Maggie yawned as she finally opened her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! Your parents are coming home today." Pepper broke the news happily.

Suddenly, Maggie shot up in the bed and was fully awake. "They're coming home?!"

"Uncle Tony just called and told me they are on their way back right now." Pepper replied with a smile. "ETA is an hour, so we better get going."

Maggie jumped out of bed and turned on the light. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Wait, don't you want to change first?" Pepper raised an eyebrow, but was relieved to see the young girl back to her enthusiastic self.

"There's no time! We gotta go now, Auntie Pep!" Maggie ran over to the bed and pulled her aunt up.

"Alright, alright, but I am definitely driving." Pepper joked, knowing the teen would most likely not obey speed limits with all her excitement.

* * *

"If you keep pacing like that, you're going to leave a mark on the ground." Maria Hill teased the fidgety teen as she continued her walking in circles in Fury's office.

"I can't help myself! I'm just so relieved and excited and a ton of other emotions!" Maggie replied.

"I'm just glad these past few days are over." Pepper commented.

"Yeah, it's been rough. Everyone's been on edge." Hill replied.

The conversation ended as the glass doors of Fury's office opened and the team of heroes strolled in, looking tired, but triumphant. Maggie held her breath until she caught sight of her parents, her eyes tearful again. "Mama! Daddy!"

"Maggie!" Came the equally emotional voices of her parents, as the teen ran up to them. Not caring about how strong she probably was because of the serum, she pulled the two adults into a bone crushing hug, holding them tightly as if they would disappear again.

"You're okay…" she cried softly as they hugged her back.

"Yeah, we are… We're so sorry, Mags, we never meant to do that to you." Her father replied, kissing her on the side of her head affectionately.

"I love you, so much; I thought I wouldn't be able to tell you that ever again."

"I love you, too, Лапушка. Never forget it." Her mother spoke up as she laid her chin on her daughter's shoulder. The two redheads were nearly equal in height now.

"I won't." Maggie promised. "I won't…"

"Maggie, sweetheart, wake up."

"W-What?"

"You're crying."

* * *

"Huh?"

The teen's blue eyes opened quickly, and she realized she had indeed been crying. She blinked a few times, registering the person beside her who woke her was Pepper.

"You were crying in your sleep again, I think you were dreaming." Her godmother clarified as she ran a hand through the redhead's hair affectionately.

"My parents…?"

"They're still not back yet, I'm sorry."

Oh.

Maggie's temporary bliss and peace quickly evaporated as the cruel reality of the world set in.

"Are you okay?" Pepper inquired.

"Yeah…" Maggie answered, not fully present.

"What did you dream about?"

"…My parents came back." The teen cursed her body as tears surfaced once again. She sighed tiredly, running a hand over her face. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Auntie Pep."

"Hey, it's okay." Pepper tried to comfort her. "They _will_ come back, I just know it."

"It's been five days. I'm losing hope."

"I know."

They fell into silence afterwards, and Pepper waited for the teen to eventually fall asleep again.

Sleep never came back for Maggie, and she wasn't sure if she was happy because she wasn't tricked by her dreams again, or sad because she had to stay in reality.

* * *

A week and a half went by slowly for the two current occupants of the Rogers home. A dull and depressing 10 days.

Maggie tried to keep herself busy as much as she could; she practiced ballet moves her mother had shown her, nearly filled all the pages of her sketchbook, baked with Pepper, went out for jogs, ate lots of food, went to the gym, only to come home to eat even more food, read books, and laid on the couch.

Her hobbies weren't keeping her entertained at all; the anxiety and worry was always eating at her, consuming her. She knew it wouldn't be much longer until she was finally broken, the remnants of a once clean glass now shattered on the floor.

It was a constant emotional roller coaster that Maggie felt bad for dragging Pepper on with her. She often went from sorrow to anger and then back again; it was times like these she feared for other people's safety within her presence. After all, she was the strongest 17 year old girl on the planet, and could easily cause harm to anyone. Despite this, Pepper stayed by her side and rode the hills of the ride with her.

"Do you think Mama and Daddy are sticking together? Or maybe one of them is already… gone? Or what if they got lost and separated?" she often wondered aloud to Pepper.

"I'm sure they're working together to come back to us, Maggie." Pepper would always answer in reply. "They won't stop until they've come back."

The cynical side of Maggie would always silently insert "or _dead_" into Pepper's statement. She tried to not let that side take over.

The teen had also attempted to write to Sif about it. She and the Asgardian warrior were still pen pals even after ten years, and had no intention of stopping soon. Thor happily played messenger for the two of them.

However, Maggie had no idea how to express her current problems in writing, and the trash can in her room was full of crumpled up balls of paper. The factory rejects, she would call them.

The redhead also kept in touch with all her uncles working on her parents' case. She always spoke on the phone with at least one of them daily.

Sam Wilson had come by often for a visit, to make sure the teen was still in one piece and doing as well as could be expected. Maggie appreciated him and his visits, though her anger had taken over during one of them.

"Uncle Sam, you're Falcon! Why aren't you over there helping them look?" she had grumbled. Upon reflecting, Maggie knew it was rude, but sometimes there are consequences of riding a roller coaster. Emotional ones were no exception.

"Maggie—" He had tried, but she cut him off. Rude again, she reflected.

"I don't need to be babysat by more than one person!"

"We aren't babysitting you, Maggie—" Pepper had tried to diffuse the situation, but the teen continued.

Maggie sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memory of her rude words to both Sam and Pepper days before. She had texted him the next day, apologizing, and he replied saying it was no problem. As for Pepper, the redhead had apologized later that night after waking up from the now routine nightmares.

"Hey." Pepper spoke up as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Maggie. "Wanna bake some brownies?"

"Sure." Maggie answered blankly. Pepper internally saddened; asking to bake brownies was something that had always gotten the young redhead excited, even as she grew older.

* * *

After they laid the ingredients out, Maggie heard her cell phone ring from the other room. "You go and I'll start working on this." Pepper said, and Maggie nodded, walking out of the kitchen.

Grabbing her phone, she checked the caller ID. _Uncle Tony_. Many emotions hit her at once. Fear. Joy. Suspense. Anger. The roller coaster was climbing up a hill, and this call would determine if a steep drop lay in wait for them at the top.

Taking a deep breath, she answered it. "Hello?" She cursed her shaking voice.

"_Maggie?_" Came the voice of Tony Stark.

Their phone calls usually started out like this, and Maggie would reply to Tony's "Maggie?" with something like "The one and only!" or "That's my name, don't wear it out!" She wasn't feeling up to continuing their banter today.

"What?" Her voice ended up sounding a bit colder than she meant to, but she didn't really care.

Luckily, Tony had learned that an upset Maggie is almost equivalent to an upset Natasha, which meant one thing for sure: no commenting. If he did tease, well, he would probably not live to see the light of day.

"_We found them_."

"What?" Maggie didn't understand.

"_Your parents, they're okay, they're safe. We're coming home._"

"Wait, seriously?!"

"_They're getting patched up by Bruce and some other doctors right now. Mostly cuts and bruises, but we will be back to the Triskelion today, I swear._"

"…I don't like it when you guys try to promise me things." Maggie, again, didn't mean to sound mean, but words were just tumbling out of her mouth. None of her family members had ever even broken promises to her that would trigger the gravity of the statement she had just said. But, she knew that their lives were crazy, and things could change forever in a moment.

"_Stop acting like your mother. You can relax now—_"

"_Tony, give me the phone._" Maggie heard Clint's voice.

"_What?_"

"_Give me the damn phone, you have no idea how to handle our redheads._" Maggie smirked; this was true. Besides Steve, Clint was the most qualified to deal with an upset Natasha, or herself. Meanwhile, Tony was the least qualified.

"_Alright, Legolas! No need to get so grabby._" She heard Tony pass off the phone.

"_Hey, kid._"

"Hey." For some reason, Maggie thought she could cry at the sound of her godfather's voice. She figured it was the news setting in.

Oh.

_Oh! _"Uncle Clint, you found them?!" she demanded into the phone.

"_Yup. Like your Uncle Tony said, they're getting patched up now, but they're coming home in one piece. Well, two, since they're two different people, technically._"

"I can't believe it…"

"_Believe it, kid, it's happening. How are you holding up?_"

"Better now, obviously." She breathed, still comprehending the news.

"_How about before? You were giving Tony the cold shoulder?_"

"I just… I didn't want him to try and make a promise to me when I know life sucks and can change for the worst in a split second."

She heard Clint whistle in awe over the phone. "_You've become intelligent, when did that happen?_"

"Hey, that's not nice!"

"_I'm just joking around, kid. Anyway, he was just trying to put your worries and anxieties to rest so you can focus on the present._"

"Yeah, I guess I've just been really moody lately, I'm sure Aunt Pepper would agree."

"_Well, it's a part of being a teenager. And for being a teenager surrounded by family members who constantly save the world for a job, I think you're doing a pretty good job of not going crazy on us._"

"I think I came close this time."

"_We all did, kid. Anyway, I better go so we can leave ASAP. I'll text you an ETA later._"

"Alright. Can you tell Uncle Tony I said that I'm sorry for being mean to him like that?"

"_Sure. He probably doesn't mind though. See ya._"

"I love you."

"_Love you, too." _

"Bye." Maggie hung up, and quickly ran back into the kitchen. "Uncle Tony and Uncle Clint said they found them!"

Pepper smiled widely. "That's great news! When are they coming home?"

"Sometime today. They're going to leave soon. Uncle Clint said he'd text me and ETA later."

"Well, I guess we won't have to finish eating all these brownies by ourselves, huh?" Pepper pouted.

"We could stash them somewhere…" Maggie smiled playfully, and Pepper laughed. It felt good to be back on the happier side of life.

* * *

"Pinch me again!"

"I'm telling you, this is no dream." Pepper assured Maggie for what felt like the millionth time as they waited in the Triskelion lobby.

"But what if it is, and I just have a high pain tolerance because of the serum in my sleep, so the pinching doesn't affect me? Maybe you should punch or kick me."

"Maggie, I'm not going to hit you."

"But Aunt Pepper!"

"You sound like a child." _Again_. Pepper silently added as she laughed. Maggie was starting to sound like her old, childish self.

Before the teen could protest, Fury and the Avengers strolled through the main entrance of the building. They looked exhausted, but triumphant. Maggie's face lit up instantly as she quickly ran over to them. "Mama! Daddy!" _Please be real this time_. She silently prayed.

Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff speed-limped/walked to their daughter to meet her halfway. Maggie threw her arms around both of them, hugging them tightly.

"Maggie…" Steve said hoarsely as he wrapped his arm around her back.

"You're okay…" The teen cried softly in relief and joy.

"Yeah, we are. Though, we kind of got our asses handed to us a few times." Natasha joked lightly as she felt her own tears of relief fall.

"I missed you so much."

"We missed you, too, kiddo."

"Good job, guys." Pepper praised the group as she walked over to them, specifically Tony. They shared a quick kiss.

"You're still in one piece. Good." Tony joked.

"And so are we." Fury commented from the side.

"What happened?" Maggie practically demanded as she pulled away just enough to meet both of her parents' eyes, as well as everyone else's in the room.

"Well, you already know the part about us being ambushed, right?" Steve asked. Maggie nodded.

"We were outnumbered, so we ran. They were hot on our trail for a while, and we led them in the opposite direction of where we had been based when we came. We lost them after a while, but by then, we were a bit lost." Natasha explained. "Luckily, your uncles all came just as we were running out of supplies."

"Thank you for finding them." Maggie said to the rest of the group. She wanted to hug everyone else, but she didn't want to let go of her parents. _Not again_. She silently vowed.

Clint noticed her internal struggle, and walked over to them. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Of course we would go after them, kid, it's just like that movie you used to watch. What was it called? It had something to do with aliens and Hawaii."

"_Lilo and Stitch._" Maggie, Pepper, Steve, and Natasha all answered at once.

"Ah, yes, family means no one gets left behind. There ya go."

Maggie smirked. "Thanks, Uncle Clint."


	13. I Can't Help Falling in Love With You

**A/N: **Woohoo! As of this past Tuesday, I am OUT OF SCHOOL! Hooray! I've been working on this chapter for a few weeks now, but it mostly came together earlier today.

Thanks so much for the reviews, faves, and follows! You all give me the courage to look over the term paper corrections I received and not totally die whilst reading them, haha! ;D

As usual, sorry if anyone is OOC, sorry I don't know how to really write dialogue for Thor, and sorry if anyone stole the cookies you were planning on eating. That last one is def the most tragic.

* * *

"Unca Clint!" Maggie giggled happily as she toddled over to the Avenger.

"Hey, kiddo!" Clint scooped the two year old up in his arms, tickling her slightly. "How are you?"

"Good! Auntie Pep!" Her attention was diverted as her godmother walked over to them.

"Alright, Clint, it's my turn now." Pepper announced as she opened her arms up.

"No way! I'm keeping her forever!" Clint teased in reply, holding the toddler tightly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Natasha Romanoff murmured to Steve Rogers as he set down Maggie's bag. She watched the two godparents bicker over "hugging rights." "A week long mission?"

Fury had done his best in assignments for the two parents, trying to give either a short mission for both Avengers, or a longer mission for only one of them. So far, it had worked well, and Maggie had only spent a few nights without her parents in Stark Tower, and, more often, nights with only one of her parents present. It appeared their luck streak had come to an end.

"I think it will be okay. I sure am going to miss her while we're gone, though." Steve replied, standing next to Natasha. "At least Pepper will be here to keep things under control."

"Yeah, I don't trust the rest of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' to take care of a toddler for a week, let alone a day."

"You and me both." They turned their attention back to the toddler.

"We are gonna have fun all week and party, aren't we?" Pepper asked as she held Maggie.

"Party!" The young redhead threw her arms up victoriously in reply.

"And lots of naps, _please say you will take naps_." Tony pleaded as he walked into the room. He wasn't ready to deal with a ball of energy for a week.

"Unca Tony is silly." Maggie commented in reply.

"Yeah, he's a pretty funny guy. Maybe he's just getting too old for fun." Pepper teased the billionaire.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Tony pouted in reply, walking over.

"We girls gotta stick together. Right, Maggie?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, alright, now come here, I want a hug from my favorite niece." Tony said, holding his arms out.

"Thanks again for taking her in, Tony." Steve said as he and Natasha walked up to the billionaire who now held Maggie.

"No problemo, Capsicle."

"Are you sure you can handle her for a week?" Natasha teased.

"Nope! That's why I have recruited Pepper and Clint to help me. Bruce should be coming over soon as well."

"Unca Brucie!" Maggie cheered happily.

Steve checked his watch with a sigh. "Looks like it's time for us to hit the road."

"Alright. One more hug!" Natasha said as she took the toddler from Tony, hugging her tightly. "Be good for everyone, okay?"

"Mama don't go." Maggie looked up at her mother.

"I'm sorry, Лапушка, but we gotta go. Uncle Nick needs us. We'll be back in a week."

"Promise?"

Natasha bit her lip. She could never promise she would return home from missions, nor could any members of the ragtag family; their jobs, and even their identities, put them in constant danger.

Sensing Natasha's hesitation, Steve decided to jump in. "We'll do our best, Maggie, and catch all the bad guys!" he hoped by ending his statement on an exciting note, the toddler would shift focus.

It worked, as Maggie cheered, "Yeah!" and Steve took her into his arms. "Make sure Uncle Tony stays good, too." he advised.

The little redhead giggled as Tony protested with a "Hey!"

* * *

"Sooooooo, are you feeling tired yet?" Tony asked as he sat on the ground with Maggie, hours later, practically begging her to go down for a nap.

"No." She answered simply, continuing to play with her toys. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." Tony muttered half to himself.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll go grab some things from the kitchen. How do animal crackers sound?"

"Yummy!" Maggie answered happily.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Both of you, be good." The billionaire's assistant ordered, getting up and leaving the two alone.

"I'm always good!" Tony protested after her, causing Maggie to giggle.

"_Sir, Dr. Banner is coming up now._"

"Awesome. Thanks, Jarvis." The genius acknowledged. "Hey, kid, did you hear that? A certain Uncle Brucie is coming up now."

The redhead set down the toys she was holding. "Unca Brucie!" She cheered. Moments later, the elevator doors opened to reveal Bruce.

"Finally! Someone else to handle her!" Tony joked in greeting as he stood up, watching Maggie run up to the newest arrival.

"Something tells me you aren't good at taking care of children." Bruce smirked as he pulled the toddler up into his arms. "Hey there, Maggie. Good to see you."

"Unca Brucie." Maggie stated happily.

"Y'know, I've been wondering, where did 'Brucie' come from, anyway?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know, it just happened. I like it." he replied. "And, no, you may not call me that."

"Unca Brucie, see my toys!" The redhead suggested before Tony could protest.

"Sure, Maggie. Let's go." Bruce carried her back over to the toy-covered section of the floor.

* * *

"Mama and Daddy?" Maggie asked Clint when she woke up the following morning.

"Sorry, kiddo, they're not back yet." He apologized. "They won't be back for a few more days."

"Oh." The disappointment in the toddler's voice saddened Clint. He knew she wasn't disappointed in having to spend time with the rest of her family; she just missed her parents.

"Well, Aunt Pepper said we would go do some fun stuff today! Like, go to the Disney Store." The archer offered. The toddler was currently obsessed with the colorful store.

"Okay!" Maggie cheered up instantaneously, making Clint smile. "Let's go!"

"Alright then!" He laughed at her enthusiasm, pulling her into his arms and walking out of the room.

* * *

"She's out cold." Clint confirmed as they walked into Stark Tower later that afternoon, carrying the sleeping toddler. "Congratulations, Tony, we got her to take a nap." He said, remembering Tony's desperate plea from the day before.

"Thank God." Tony said melodramatically, carrying Disney bags full of the things they bought. "You got the easier end of the job, though, seeing as I'm probably carrying twice her weight in all this useless stuff right now. What is so appealing about that store, anyway?"

"You had fun and you know it." Pepper laughed from next to him. "I saw you playing with Maggie and the rest of the kids at the little play table. Especially when the worker brought out that tub of fake snow while they played songs from _Frozen._"

"What can I say, snow is fun." Tony defended.

"Sure, but you were the only adult there who looked that elated over it." Bruce laughed.

"The other adults just don't know how to have fun! You guys included." Tony argued.

"Sshh, keep it down, will you? If we wake her up, she'll be cranky." Clint shushed the bickering trio, though there was amusement in his voice.

"Oh, don't act like you're the mature one here, Katniss! I saw you fanboying over that _Brave _themed bow and arrow set. You want to start teaching the squirt how to shoot people already!" Tony rolled his eyes.

"Okay, first off, I do not fanboy. Secondly, they did not have cool toys like that when I was growing up, so I got excited over the fact Maggie would get that privilege. And thirdly, it's not that she needs to learn how to shoot people, she just eventually needs to learn how to defend himself." Clint defended himself.

"She's two." Pepper reminded him.

"Exactly, which is why I said '_eventually_'." Clint emphasized.

"Can we all just agree that Disney has managed to reach out to the inner child in each of us and be done with it?" Bruce sighed.

"So agree to disagree." Tony abbreviated.

"That's not what I said."

"It was implied. So, sure."

"Whatever, Tony."

* * *

"I want Mama and Daddy." Maggie said sadly the next day, and everyone in the room held their breath. They knew that it would happen eventually.

"I know, kid, I know, but hey, they'll be back soon." Clint tried to soothe her.

"Wanna watch _Frozen_?" Pepper offered softly.

Maggie shook her head.

"Here we go." Tony muttered, running a hand over his face. He knew the moment Maggie didn't want to watch that movie was when things would take a turn for the worst.

"I want Mama and Daddy." The redhead repeated, now on the verge of tears.

Before anyone could say anything more, they were interrupted by the sound of thunder.

"Oh, thank God for that dude's timing!" Tony practically shed tears of joy as Thor landed on the deck just outside of the windows.

Natasha and Steve had managed to quickly extinguish Maggie's fear of thunder and lightning using Thor; any time there was a storm, they reminded her that it was just her Uncle Thor's way of reminding everyone he was still around and that he loved them. The two parents had to admit their explanation had been a stretch and romanticized things a bit, but it helped calm the toddler down.

"Unca Thor!" Maggie exclaimed as Thor entered the building, Jarvis closing the large glass panels behind him.

"Good morning, Lady Margaret." The Asgardian greeted happily, walking over to the now joyful child.

As Maggie launched herself in his large arms happily, everyone else let out the breath they had been holding.

"Thor, you have the best timing. Ever." Clint commented with a grateful smile.

"I fear I do not understand." Thor looked confused.

"We'll explain later." Bruce replied. "What brings you here?"

"I haven't visited Midguard in a while; I assumed I would be able to encounter Lady Margaret here if I came today, and it appears I was correct."

"Thank God you were." Tony said exasperatedly.

"Unca Thor." Maggie's voice brought Thor's eyes to her. "Can you tell me a story?"

"Aye, I have many stories waiting to be shared. Let us sit." Thor smiled, sitting down with the toddler on his lap. "Long ago, my friend Sif, my brother Loki, and I…"

"We've been saved. Somehow." Pepper chuckled as she and the three other Avengers gathered near the counter.

"We have always seemed to have great luck." Clint commented.

"Must be a side effect of being an Avenger." Bruce added.

"I don't care what caused it, I'm just glad that we avoided a toddler meltdown." Tony let of a breath of relief.

"For now." The others all commented in reply.

* * *

"Aw, that makes an adorable picture." Tony admired as he, Bruce, and Thor all walked into the room. It was the evening of the day following Thor's arrival, and the trio had gone out to get groceries and leave Maggie with some quality godparent time.

A huge, thick blanket had been laid out over the carpet on the floor in front of the TV, and the redhead and two adults were sprawled out on it, asleep, while the credits of _Brave_ rolled on the large TV. Stuffed animals and toys were scattered all over, and Maggie lay curled up against Clint, with Pepper's arm around her.

Tony quickly whipped out his phone and snapped a few pictures from different angles as the other two Avengers set their bags on the counter.

"Shall we wake them?" Thor asked as he walked up next to the billionaire.

"Nah, we should just make them comfier." Tony said, walking out of the room. He returned moments later with pillows and blankets.

"Here, let me help." Bruce offered, taking the large blanket and draping it over the three sleeping forms.

Clint, always being alert when he slept, woke up quickly.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked groggily, turning his head slowly to look at the three other Avengers in the room, careful not to wake the toddler curled up against his chest.

"Just go back to sleep, Legolas, you guys look adorable." Tony replied, placing a pillow under Pepper's head carefully, then following suit with Maggie. "Here." He handed Clint a pillow.

"Thanks. 'Night, guys." Clint yawned while placing the pillow under his head.

"Goodnight." Bruce replied while Tony removed _Brave _from the DVD player.

* * *

They all knew a meltdown was inevitable. And it finally came on the fifth day.

"I want Mama and Daddy!" Maggie cried over and over again.

They decided not to crowd her. Tony, of course, had been the first to leave, practically fleeing from the scene. Bruce feared seeing his niece so upset might yield a similar result in himself, so he went down to the labs to work on the things he had fallen behind on because of Maggie's long stay. Thor didn't really know what to do, so he just went to the kitchen and ate the majority of their pop tart stash.

"I know you do, sweetheart, I know. They will be back the day after tomorrow." Pepper said slowly and softly, trying to diffuse the situation.

It didn't work. "Come here, kid." Clint opened his arms to the upset toddler.

"No!" She protested, backing away.

"Maggie, you need to calm down." Pepper said sternly, but softly.

"No!" She repeated. "I want Mama and Daddy!"

"Listen, kid, they're going to be back in two days. _Two days. _We just have to be patient." Clint tried again.

"I want them now!"

"Maggie, you know that's not possible." Pepper replied.

The conversation went back and forth like this for a while, with Maggie rejecting all of their reassurances or attempts of cheering her up.

"You know what? I think it's time we call in the big guns; the guy who can for sure tell you when you're parents are coming back." Clint finally said, standing up, with a hint of impatience in his voice. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault, especially not Maggie's, but he hated feeling like he couldn't cheer up his goddaughter like usual.

Pepper raised an eyebrow at him as Maggie continued crying and pouting. Clint pulled up the screens on the other side of the room, and initiated a video call to the Triskelion.

"_Director Fury._" Fury answered as his face appeared on the screen. He blinked, registering the archer's face. "_Agent Barton. What are you calling for?_"

"I have an upset toddler who needs to hear that her parents are coming back soon from someone who has tabs on them." Clint stated. Normally, he knew, he would have to speak more professionally to his boss, but when it came to a certain young redhead, all the workplace barriers were broken.

Fury stared at Barton for a moment, and then gave the slightest hint of a smile. "_Put her on._"

"Pepper, could you bring the little monster over?" Clint called across the room.

"Maggie, come on, Uncle Clint has something to show you." Pepper urged.

"Mama and Daddy?"

"It has to do with them, now, come on." Pepper said cryptically, leading the sniffling toddler to Clint, who quickly pulled the squirming girl up.

"Chill, kiddo, there's someone here who wants to talk with you." Clint said, turning back towards Fury with the upset Maggie in his arms.

"_Hi, Maggie_." Fury greeted.

"Unca Nick." Maggie sniffled. "I want Mama and Daddy."

"_I know, Maggie. They're coming back real soon. They have to catch some bad guys and save the world first, though._"

"But I want them back now."

"_Me too. But we have to remember that there are people in trouble that they are saving. They're being superheroes. Do you want to be a superhero, too?_"

The redhead thought for a moment, before nodding."Uh-huh."

"_Then you have to hang tight, and protect your Uncle Clint and Aunt Pepper and everyone else with you while your parents are gone. Can you do that for me, Maggie?_"

"I think so."

"_Good. Think of it like a mission, like what your parents and your uncles have to do sometimes. You can be a hero just like them, okay?_"

"Okay, Unca Nick." Maggie had stopped crying now, except for the occasional sniffle.

"_Okay. I'll talk to you later. I'm expecting a complete mission report. Goodbye._"

"Bye, Unca Nick. Love you."

"_Love you, too._" After that, Fury hung up, and Clint and Pepper exchanged a look of relief.

"Can I have a hug _now_?" Clint asked the toddler. "Your Uncle Nick did say you have to protect us, and I really want a hug."

"Okay, Unca Clint." Maggie said as she wrapped her arms around Clint's neck. She yawned, having tired herself out.

"I think it's time for a nap." Pepper suggested, and the redhead didn't protest.

* * *

After Fury's pep talk, Maggie didn't mention her parents for the rest of the remaining two days. The closest she would come was recounting her mission to protect her aunt and uncles while they were absent to the rest of the Avengers who hadn't been present during the video call.

"I 'tect you, Unca Tony." Maggie declared happily, as she sat on the ground with the billionaire the following evening.

"You do that, squirt." Tony smiled in reply.

"Unca Nick said to. It's my mission!"

"I'm sure you will accomplish it."

On the day Steve and Natasha were due to arrive, Thor was telling Maggie an exciting Asgard story while everyone else waited eagerly for the two Avengers to return.

"As much as I love that kid, I need a break." Tony said tiredly. "That sugar rush yesterday was almost as challenging as the Battle of New York. Almost."

"Normally I would say that you're being a bit dramatic, but that was pretty rough. And it was all your fault." Bruce commented.

"I just wanted her to stay happy, I wasn't ready for another meltdown!"

"Excuses, excuses." Pepper rolled her eyes. "I warned you guys not to let her eat all of those pop tarts with Thor."

"At least it was a good workout, testing our speed and stamina. As well as our abilities to stop something from colliding with everything else in its path." Clint joked.

Before anyone could say anything else, Jarvis interrupted them.

"_Sir, Mr. Rogers and Ms. Romanoff are coming up now._"

"Awesome, thanks Jarvis." Tony said happily, and they walked back over to the Asgardian and toddler just as the former's story was ending.

"And then we returned to Asgard." Thor finished. "The end."

"Good story!" Maggie commented. "Thank you, Unca Thor."

"Yo, kiddo, your parentals are here." Clint gestured to the elevator doors, just as they opened to reveal the two Avengers in question.

"Mama! Daddy!" Maggie squealed excitedly, jumping off of Thor's lap and running over to them.

"Hi, Лапушка!" Natasha said happily, as she and Steve walked out of the elevator. She crouched down and pulled Maggie into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"We missed you, Mags." Steve said joyfully, placing his large hand on his daughter's back and kissing the top of her head affectionately.

"I missed you, too, but Unca Nick gave me a mission, too, and I had to 'tect Aunt Pepper an Unca Clint and everyone so I didn't miss you as much." The redhead babbled, trying to hastily explain the events of the past few days.

"Well, you did a great job." Natasha praised her daughter, kissing her on the side of her head.

"Welcome back, you two." Clint finally greeted the two newcomers. "How was _your_ mission?"

"It went well, and we got everything we needed." Steve replied.

"Did you stop the bad guys?" Maggie asked curiously, looking up at her father.

"We did." Steve said proudly.

"Yay!" The toddler cheered, and laid her head back down on her mother's shoulder.

"As much as I love the munchkin, I think she's ready to go back home." Tony commented.

Steve smirked. "Was it really that bad?" He laughed.

"Well, one of my highlights was definitely this." Tony said, showing Steve the picture of Maggie sleeping between Clint and Pepper on his phone.

"Hey! You took a picture of that?" Clint protested.

"Aw, come on, it was adorable!" Tony whined in reply.

"Not as adorable as you playing with other children at the Disney Store when the fake snow came out." Pepper retaliated, showing Steve the pictures she had from that event.

"You took pictures of that?" Tony protested, like Clint.

"It was adorable!" Pepper quoted the billionaire with a smirk.

"Well, it's nice to see Maggie brings out the child in each of you." Steve laughed at their bickering.

"Lady Margaret and I dined on the finest tarts of pop yesterday." Thor added.

Seeing the looks on everyone else's face, Steve laughed again. "Sugar rush?"

"The worst one ever." Bruce groaned in reply. "She was impossible to control."

"You guys should know better than to give an already energetic toddler a ton of sugar." Steve advised.

"_Now _you tell us." Tony sighed.

"Tony, _I specifically _warned you guys not to let her eat a bunch of pop tarts, and you didn't listen to me." Pepper reminded him.

While everyone was bickering over their different experiences from the past few days, Natasha continued to hold the young redhead tightly. She had suffered from separation anxiety throughout the entire mission, and occasionally struggled to work through it.

"I missed you so much, Лапушка." The spy murmured softly to Maggie.

"I missed you, too." Maggie echoed in reply. "But Unca Nick said you're a superhero so you hafta save the world a lot."

"Yeah. It's hard, but we do it because we love you so much." Natasha explained, smiling sadly.

"I love you, too." Maggie replied warmly. "Thank you for saving the world."

* * *

**A/N: **A couple things-

1. Yes, once when I was at a Disney Store with my family, we were standing near the little play table area with the screen playing movie clips and such, and a worker came out with a small tub of fake snow and encouraged the kids to help him build a snowman. It was so cute! XP

2. My little sister and best friend both own a toy bow and arrow set based off of Merida's in _Brave_, so that's also legit. :P

3. This chapter is named "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" after the Elvis Presley song-I figured it was fitting since it appears Maggie has all of the Avengers and some of the highest powers of S.H.I.E.L.D. wrapped around her finger, and they can't seem to help it. XP (Also, because Christina Grimmie performed it on The Voice episode earlier this week... UGH SO DISAPPOINTED SHE DIDN'T WIN D: *cries*)

That is all :P


	14. Everything Has Changed

**A/N: **Happy literally the last minutes of Memorial Day, everyone! (For anyone who might not know, it's a USA holiday.) This short installment is definitely not my best, as I've been battling with a cold these past two days, as well as being busy for the past three. 0_o Feels weird to actually have things to do, hehe~

Thanks for the all the faves and follows, I love you all~ Have a nice day. c:

* * *

"Happy Memorial Day, Daddy."

Steve Rogers looked down at his eight year old daughter who was beaming brightly up at him and waving a small American flag around excitedly. She smiled patiently as she waited for a reaction.

"Thanks, Mags." He said, amused, but then sighed sadly. "Guess you get to accompany me on my rounds today, huh?"

Natasha Romanoff was gone on a mission, and Steve didn't want to take Maggie to New York and interrupt his usual routine of laying flowers by his old friends' graves on the appropriate holidays. That left him with no choice but to bring her along, and let his daughter see him vulnerable and nostalgic. He knew someday she would have to learn more about his past and where the characters of his old stories had ended up, but he didn't think it would come so soon.

"Why are you sad?" The redhead asked, tilting her head to one side curiously. Steve envied the unknowing and childlike innocence in her round blue eyes.

"I'm sad because my old friends have passed away, so I miss them." He explained.

"Oh." Maggie appeared to understand, which Steve was grateful for; he didn't want to talk about it too much.

"Come on, then, we better get going and beat the crowds." He gestured to the door, and took her hand in his. "We still got to go to the grocery store and pick up flowers."

* * *

"Do I just set the flowers in front of it here?" The eight year old asked her father, gesturing to the green grass growing around the stone.

"Yeah, that's good." Steve replied, and Maggie set the flowers down gently.

"So, she's the person I'm named after?" She looked up at her father for confirmation.

"Yup. But, we called her 'Peggy' for short." He explained. "She helped start S.H.I.E.L.D., remember?"

"Uh-huh." Maggie nodded, and turned back to the stone. "Can I touch it?"

"Sure."

The redhead ran her hand over the imprinted words of the tombstone. She traced the name "Margaret 'Peggy' Carter" with gentle fingertips. "I wish I got to meet her." She said sadly.

Peggy had passed away before Maggie was born, and Steve visited her grave often. After Maggie was born, though, he reduced the times he visited the grave to only a few times a year, one of which was Memorial Day. He also left flowers by the graves of the Howling Commandos and his old war buddies who were buried in Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC.

"I wish you did, too. She would have loved you. You guys are pretty similar, too." Steve replied.

"Really?" Maggie asked happily.

"Yeah, you're both brave, strong, and outgoing. You probably would be able to accomplish anything together." He couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of the two 'Margaret's wreaking havoc everywhere they went.

"She sounds fun." She smiled. "Can you tell me more about her?"

"Sure, kiddo." Steve complied with a warm smile, sitting down on the ground in front of the grave next to Maggie. "She was tough, and helped train all the soldiers that were going to fight in the war."

"Like you?"

"Yeah, like me, but remember how I used to be weak, before the serum?"

She nodded.

"Well, Peggy saw potential in me…"

Steve spent a good half hour talking all about his best gal. Maggie hung onto every word, determined to learn as much as she could about the woman she was named after, so she could aspire to be just like her.

"Did you have a crush on her?" The redhead inquired as Steve talked about his final mission before he was frozen. "Like, like-like her?"

He chuckled in amusement at her wording. "I suppose you could say I did."

"Did she like you back?"

"Yeah, but nothing came of it, since I was frozen for 70 years and she thought I was dead. She moved on and fell in love with another man, and I fell in love with Mama, so it all worked out." He didn't want her to feel he had divided loyalties in his love of Natasha; he knew Maggie just wouldn't really understand the jist of it all since she was only eight.

"Maybe she's our guardian angel now." She theorized excitedly. "Like, watching over us and helping you and everyone on missions!"

Steve smiled at Maggie's idea. "I like to think that, too." They fell into a comfortable silence.

It was broken a few moments later by the rumbling of her stomach. "Sounds like someone's hungry." The soldier commented.

"I'm always hungry! I could eat a horse!"

"I think you're exaggerating just a bit." He stood up with a laugh, and offered her his hand. "Now, then, let's go grab some food."

Maggie looked back at the tombstone one more time. "Bye, Ms. Peggy! It was fun hanging out with you." She said happily as she turned back to her father, taking his hand and standing up. "We'll come back and visit, right?"

Steve nodded. "Of course." The day had honestly gone better than he had thought; Maggie asked all the right questions and didn't push too much, as if she could sense when he needed to just quietly reflect. He was glad he now had someone to happily accompany him on his depressing routine.

* * *

"Daddy, I have something to give you!" Maggie declared as they walked through the front door of their house later that afternoon.

"Okay?" Steve raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind him.

The redhead ran off to her room, and quickly came out with a card and a letter.

"What's all this?" He asked as they sat on the couch together, taking the items into his hands.

"We made them in school last week! We had to make a card and write a letter for a soldier we are thankful for." She explained.

"Alright, then, let's take a look." He said as he examined the card. It said, "Happy Memorial Day!" on the front, and on the inside was a drawing of him decked out in his classic Captain America uniform and said "Love, Maggie."

"I love this card! Thanks so much, Mags. That drawing is really good." Steve said gratefully, closely inspecting her drawing.

"You gotta read the letter, though!" Maggie urged, forcing the hand holding the note closer to his face.

"Alright, alright! Give me a second." He laughed at her impatience. He then began to read.

"_Dear Daddy, _

"_Happy Memorial Day! Thank you for protecting our country. Even though it was a long time ago and you took a vacation from being a soldier for 70 years, thank you for keeping America safe during World War II, and every day now. And thank you for protecting me, Mama, and everyone else by working for S.H.I.E.L.D. now. _

"_Love, Maggie." _

Steve smiled warmly at the letter, and didn't know what to say. He could feel himself choking up.

"Well? Do you like it?" Maggie prompted, showing her impatient side again. _Must have learned that from Tony, _he silently mused.

"I love it. Thanks, kiddo." Steve finally said, and kissed her softly on the side of her head. "This means a lot to me. I love you so much." He didn't really know what else to say, and felt as if he didn't say enough.

"I love you, too." The redhead smiled, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for protecting everyone."

"No, Mags, thank _you_."


	15. And I Won't Tell 'Em Your Name

**A/N: **Hooray for late night writing inspiration! :) This kinda came out of nowhere, haha. This oneshot takes place during "Miracle in the Making," after Nat and Steve find out they're having a girl, and decide on the name "Margaret" in dedication to Peggy.

The idea of how they tease the name to everyone else is based off of the YouTubers Missy and Bryan Lanning, who run a vlog-based channel named "daily bumps" :3 I borrowed their name revealing method here, haha.

Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and faves! :D Hope you enjoy~

* * *

"Alright, Capsicle and Tasha, we know that the Itsy Bitsy Spider is a girl. Now I would like to know her name." Tony Stark pleaded with the expecting couple.

"Mmmm, I don't think I'm going to tell you." Natasha Romanoff teased, holding her head up high.

"That's cold." Tony commented, faking a look of hurt.

"Sorry, Stark, but Nat and I both agreed that we're going to keep the name a surprise." Steve Rogers piped in with an amused smile on his face.

"That's not fair! I wanted to buy things customized with her name on it." Pepper pouted.

"Jesus, Pepper, if you keep buying her clothes, she's going to have a different outfit for each day of her life!" Natasha commented exasperatedly with a laugh. The billionaire's assistant had been going crazy with purchases for the Avengers' baby.

"I will always spoil her rotten, you can be sure of that." Pepper asserted, causing both parents to sigh.

"Why can't we know the name if we already know the gender?" Clint asked.

"Because it's fun to have something to dangle over your guys' heads like this." Natasha smirked playfully.

"If the little bundle of joy was a boy, I would have more guesses, but since it's a girl, there aren't as many people here that I could see you naming her after." Tony figured.

"Well, your first hint is that no one else from our group has the name. It would be too confusing to have another Pepper or Maria." Natasha teased.

"You'll never guess it correctly." Steve boasted.

"Can we at least have another hint?" Bruce was also eager to learn the name.

"I think I have an idea that will serve as a compromise." Natasha said. "You will see what I mean when Steve and I return home later."

Steve shot her a questioning look, but he trusted she had something up her sleeve.

"Alright, you're on, Spidey." Tony challenged.

* * *

"So, why did we stop to get this chalk board again?" Steve asked as he carried in said object, which the couple had bought on their way home.

"Torture." Natasha smiled with an evil glint in her eye. "Come with me." She led him to the other room that would become the nursery. It still had a lot of work to be done; however, the crib was in their bedroom because the two heroes decided they would feel safer sleeping in the same room as their daughter and it would be more practical.

"Set it here." The redhead gestured to the dresser, and Steve did as he was told. "Let me see the chalk."

"Nat, I'm still confused." He raised an eyebrow as she took a piece of chalk and walked over to the board.

"Just trust me on this! Can you hand me that list of our top choices of girl names?" She requested.

"Uh, sure." Steve shrugged, and left the room to retrieve the item. He quickly returned and handed it to her. "Now will you tell me what we're doing?"

Natasha counted on her hands instead of answering right away. "Roughly 15 weeks left…" she muttered as she started copying the names down on the board.

"I'm still not getting it." Steve crossed his arms skeptically. After she finished copying 15 names on the board, she turned to the soldier with a playful grin.

"Each week, we will send the others a video message of us erasing one name off the board. That way, they will get a better idea of what her name will be, but won't know for sure until it's the only name left, assuming that's how many weeks we'll have before little Ms. Maggie here decides to come out." Natasha explained, looking down at her swollen abdomen affectionately at the end.

"That's… A pretty good idea." Steve had to hand it to her; it was clever and would be amusing for the couple, watching everyone else struggle. "I like it."

"Alright then, soldier, let's get started." The redhead smiled, getting her phone out of her pocket. "Get in the shot with me. There." Steve held the phone up selfie-style, since he was considerably taller. He pushed the record button.

"Alright, guys, behind us here you see a chalkboard full of possibilities." She said to the camera, moving herself out of the shot just enough so the camera had a good view of the full board. "Each week, Steve and I will send you a video like this, where we erase one name off the board. So you'll be closer and closer to the final decision for the rest of the pregnancy."

"I give Natasha full credit for this idea; it was all hers." Steve added with a laugh. "Alright, Nat, since it's your plan, would you like to do the honors?" He offered, handing her the eraser.

"How sweet of you to offer. Sure, Rogers." She beamed, taking the eraser and examining the board closely. She read through each name she wrote: _Katherine, Isabelle, Hayley, Annie, Samantha, Margaret, Eva, Chloe, Scarlett, Lauren, Emma, Jennifer, Olivia, Kylie, Aria._

Of course, she and Steve already knew which name was going to be the final one. After a moment of debating, she eliminated _Samantha_.

"Well, there you guys go! We won't be having a _Samantha_." Natasha teased as she turned back to the camera. "See you next time in our weekly installment!" She waved to the camera playfully as Steve turned it off with a chuckle.

"_Samantha_ sure is a pretty name though." He said. "It's pretty popular."

"Yeah, maybe she'll have a best friend named Sam or something." Natasha shrugged as she set the eraser down. "Now, then, let's send it!" She took the phone excitedly and texted it to the rest of the Avengers and Pepper. After a moment of debate, she decided to send it to Hill and Fury, because they, too, had asked her or Steve about names before.

"These next few weeks are gonna be fun." She smiled mischievously to Steve, who smiled in amusement.

"I can tell you're looking forward to this." He commented.

* * *

As the final weeks flew by for the expecting couple, names continued to be erased weekly, and everyone on the receiving end of the videos were constantly arguing over their guesses.

"Director, I'm telling you, it's going to be _Aria_. The definition has to do with beautiful music; that sounds right up their alley." Hill argued as she walked with Fury through the Triskelion.

"It's definitely _Olivia_. I have a pretty good sense of things like this, Hill." Fury insisted. She rolled her eyes playfully and they resumed their work.

Meanwhile, in Stark Tower, the same argument was occurring, though a bit more heated.

"Tony, I just know it's going to be _Emma_. It's just too cute a name to pass up!" Pepper urged.

"No way, it's going to be _Scarlett_, 'cause the kid's gonna be ginger, I'm telling you." Tony declared.

"No, dumbass, there are two things wrong with that." Clint argued, holding his phone in one hand. "First, she just sent this week's video; _Scarlett_ was eliminated. Second, she always feels bad over the 'red in her ledger,' so why the hell would she name her kid something that has to do with the color red?"

"Well, why the hell was it even on the board, then, or even made it this far? Your logic is flawed." Tony argued heatedly.

Pepper just sighed, stressfuly massaging her temples with her hands.

"Lord Banner, I still do not understand this concept." Thor said while the archer and billionaire argued on the opposite side of the room.

"Basically, Thor, Natasha and Steve are making us guess what they will name their baby. They have a list of possible names, and they eliminate one each week. Currently, the choices left are _Hayley, Kylie, Emma, Aria, Lauren, Olivia, _and _Margaret._" Bruce explained.

"I believe I am starting to comprehend this. What is your guess, Lord Banner?"

"I think _Lauren_ sounds pretty. But I honestly don't know what to expect at this point."

"That is a pretty name, but I don't think it's their cup of tea." Clint butt into their conversation as the trio walked over. "I'm betting on _Kylie_."

"At this point, I'm going with _Hayley_, then." Tony declared.

"I still stand by _Emma_." Pepper emphasized.

"I think Lady _Margaret_ sounds rather nice..." Thor's input was not heard as the others continued to argue.

"Come on, Peps, that's definitely going to be the next one off the list." Tony teased.

"How would you know? Maybe _Hayley _will be the next to be cast aside." Pepper argued back.

"I think everyone needs to calm down; this is nothing to get so worked up over." Bruce advised. He didn't feel like turning into the Hulk to fight over baby names. "We'll just have to wait and see what they name her."

* * *

"Okay, we are down to the final two!" Natasha announced excitedly in, what she didn't know to be at the time, the final video. "The final contestants are _Olivia_ and _Margaret_. You all got a 50/50 chance here. Good luck."

"Think they'll be able to guess it now?" Steve asked curiously as he sent the video to all the appropriate receivers while they walked back into the living room.

"Maybe. Too bad Fury gave us this entire month off. I would pay to see him and Hill wreak havoc over it tomorrow." She smirked.

"That would be quite the sight to see." He agreed.

Natasha smiled as she glanced at the calendar on the wall, locating the current date with her eyes:

_April 17th._

* * *

**A/N: **In case anyone has forgotten, April 18th is the day Maggie was born, so they really cut it close to the wire with their little teaser videos! XD So, yes, she was born a week early. Always the excited and eager type, huh? :P It works for her personality, hehe~

I figured that the other Avengers and co wouldn't see the connection of Margaret and Peggy, because as seen in _The Winter Soldier_, Steve doesn't appear to be open about his lost love with her. Technically in the actual MCU canon, Nat doesn't know the truth either since Steve shrugged her off in the scene where she questioned him about it, but in my little fanfiction I figured Steve would have told Nat about it. :3

Oi, I'm rambling now XP Bye-bye!


	16. The End of the World

**A/N: **So sorry about the lack of updates guys... This is day #8 for my cold, and it has yet to show a sign that it's going away. D: It started with just a sore throat and fatigue for a few days, then the other normal symptoms like coughing and runny nose hit me like a ton of bricks. So trying to write these past couple of days has been basically going, "Type, cough, drink water, type, sneeze, blow nose, cough, drink water, type, cough, drink water, bathroom break" over and over bahhhhh

Here we have teenager Maggie again who decides that it's time to invest in a relationship with a boy... Oh, no! I decided to drift away a bit from the normal overprotective dad thing and go a bit unconventional... You'll see when you read it. ;) If anything feels weird about how Cap tackles the situation, I'll have an explanation at the end of this installment. :3

Thanks for the faves, follows, and reviews! You all knock my socks off! *raises my bare feet into the air victoriously* :D

* * *

"Jack and I decided to make things official and be boyfriend and girlfriend!" Maggie cheerfully announced as she walked into the room. Jack had been one of her friends since freshman year, and they had been hanging out a lot more lately. It seemed they decided to take the next step in their relationship.

Natasha Romanoff suddenly felt the urge to throw up, kill someone, and jump out a window all at once at her daughter's happy words. She was suffering from a sort of internal apocalypse.

"Just make sure he treats you right, or else he'll have all of S.H.I.E.L.D. after him." Steve Rogers replied calmly. He had met the boy before, so he knew he was a good kid. But he also didn't want to get on Maggie's bad side. "I want you to be respected and don't do anything you feel uncomfortable doing."

"It'll be okay, Daddy. He knows I'm not big on doing more than, like, holding hands or something, anyway." Maggie reassured him. She wasn't really a kisser or hugger outside of her ragtag family.

Natasha had opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find words to say to her 16 year old daughter. She didn't want to irritate her by going into overprotective mom mode, but at the same time, she wanted to take Maggie and hide her from the rest of the world. But she knew she couldn't do that.

"...Congratulations, Лапушка." She settled on, though both of the other people in the room could tell she was a bit more upset than she was letting on.

"Uh… Thanks, but are you feeling okay? You don't sound that good." Maggie raised an eyebrow. "I was also anticipating some kind of blow up, and a string of Russian curses and threatening to just kill Jack now."

"What? You're overreacting, I would never do that." Natasha tried to hide the fact that that was how she was initially going to react. She tried to appear relaxed. "I am just going to warn you that most men are stuck up jerks and that a sense of patriarchy still exists in today's society and culture."

"...Wow, that was a much more intellectual response than I expected. Thanks, Mama." The teen kissed her mother on the cheek before walking out of the room.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Natasha jumped up off the couch. "I need to do something. Anything." She announced. "Does Fury have any missions he needs us to do?"

"Uh, not that I know of… Are you okay, Nat?" Steve asked, concerned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I just need to... kill something."

"That doesn't sound okay to me. It appears that you're taking this boyfriend news worse than me."

"I am not! You're her father, so naturally you should be taking this much worse and be going crazy."

"I'm terrified and feeling really protective, yes." Steve confirmed. "But I know that Maggie is smart and can take care of herself with other teenagers. Of course, I'll still pop in to save her even when she doesn't want it or need it, but I know she can handle this."

Natasha groaned. "I know she can, but I don't want her to! Men suck! No offense."

"None taken." Steve chuckled.

"Now, then, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go call Fury and ask him to send me on a mission. An action packed one."

"In this state, you'll probably be able to take out anyone." Steve joked as she went to go find her phone.

* * *

"Ugh, damn it, Fury!" Natasha angrily muttered as she set her phone down on the table. The director had no current missions for the spy.

Maggie, who had just been walking by at that moment, quickly poked her head into the room curiously. "What's wrong with Uncle Nick, Mama?"

Natasha was startled by her daughter, but quickly tried to play it cool and calm. "Oh, nothing, Лапушка... I was talking to Aunt Ria about some missions but then he interrupted our conversation so now I gotta go to the Triskelion later and get the info in person."

"Oh, that stinks. Well, have fun on your field trip." Maggie teased as she continued walking to her room. Once she was gone, Natasha sighed exasperatedly and leaned back into her seat.

"I take it that there are no new missions for you to go take out your anger on." Steve teased as he walked in and sat down next to her, having heard the whole conversation before he came in.

"Watch it, Rogers, I'm in a bad mood." Natasha warned coldly.

"Hey, there's no reason to be like that. You and I have both met Jack multiple times; he's a good kid. Respectful, caring, a good first boyfriend for Maggie."

"That sounds too good to be true. There's gotta be something that's gonna make him hurt her, I just know it. He could be just pretending, trying to get close to her. What if there's a lot more going on here than we think?"

"Nat, you're overthinking this. The chances of him having some other, bigger goal are slim."

"And _how _many times have we managed to defy odds?" Natasha shot back.

Steve just sighed, and didn't reply. Sometimes it was impossible to talk sense into the spy.

* * *

"Okay, Nat, please tell me you aren't doing what I think you're doing." Steve raised an eyebrow as he watched the redhead walk towards the front door.

"Depends on what you think I'm doing." Natasha called without looking up, putting her shoes on.

"I think you're about to go follow our daughter around while she's on a date. Again."

"No, I'm just going to the mall to get some things."

"Would one of those things be Mags as you coincidentally go to the same mall they're at?"

"No, that's pure coincidence. Besides, I wouldn't pull her from a date, I stay on the sidelines."

"So you are going for that, then."

Natasha let out a frustrated sigh. "Look. I just don't want her-"

"Getting hurt." Steve finished. "I know, Nat, and I don't want her to get hurt, either. But we have to give her some independence."

"Of course that would come from you, Captain America, the guy who is willing to always pay the price for freedom..." Natasha muttered to herself as she grabbed her keys.

"I heard that."

"And I'm going to the mall." She declared and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, probably before 8:30."

"You mean, before the time Maggie gets home." Steve raised an eyebrow.

"_Goodbye_, Rogers!" She said with a voice that left no room for argument and strode out the front door. The soldier sighed and prayed to God that the paths of the two redheads wouldn't cross that evening.

* * *

Maggie sighed as she arrived home one evening a couple months later, and dragged herself over to the living room couch next to her mother.

"Hey, Лапушка, how was your date?" Natasha asked, still hesitating on the word "date." She noticed the teen's sulking. "Are you okay?"

"We broke up." She said simply, and Natasha felt that internal Armageddon she had experienced when Maggie first shared the news of having a boyfriend return full force.

"Oh, sweetie." The spy said sadly, pulling her daughter into a hug. She resorted to English terms of endearment when things weren't going well. "I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"I ended it." Maggie replied, hugging her mom tightly. "But it turned out to be a mutual thing; neither of us were really feeling that romantic feeling for each other anymore, y'know? We just agreed to be friends."

"Yeah. I'm sorry it didn't work out." Natasha soothed, pulling out of the hug to meet Maggie's eyes. She held her hands comfortingly.

"It just wasn't meant to be." She shrugged. "But I'm sure you and Daddy and everyone else are happy; you guys want to kill every boy that comes near me." She joked with a smirk, but Natasha could sense the pain being masked behind the remark.

"Look, Maggie." Natasha began with a sigh. "We're all just like that because we want to protect you. We know that most guys out there aren't like the bad guys that we have to hunt down. But we just can't help feeling like they are and being scared. We were all trained to take out whatever causes us fear, and that isn't necessarily fair to you. Yeah, we all will attack anyone, regardless of age or gender, who tries to hurt you; but it's mainly because we're scared of the idea that you're going to be loved by other people, too."

Maggie avoided making eye contact with her mother during the whole explanation. The spy knew she was trying to hide her hurt and pain over the fact that her relationship didn't work out, and was convinced she was the only one truly upset.

Natasha smiled and gently lifted Maggie's chin to make eye contact with her. "We're all sad and disappointed that this didn't work out, too, believe me. We just don't want to share you with anyone else because you're our special little girl and we love you so much."

Maggie, too, smiled, and gave Natasha a bear hug, holding her tightly. "I love you, too." She said into the spy's shoulder. Then she pulled away, and shot her mom a curious look. "Does this mean you won't follow me around on dates anymore?"

Natasha opened her mouth, not sure what to say. "...I did no such thing!" She protested, trying to hide her surprise. _Busted_.

"Come on, you've told me all your different spy stories and stuff. I know all your moves." The teen teased.

The spy sighed, knowing she had been found out. "Alright, alright, which ones did you see me on? 'Cause I didn't follow you on all of them!"

"The first few. At first I was kinda annoyed, but then I decided I could have fun with it and increase the small amount of PDAs we were doing. Like, arm around the shoulders, holding hands, stuff like that. I knew it would drive you up the wall."

"You are cruel, Maggie, so cruel."

"What can I say? It was my way of getting back at you."

"You know, you really should be nicer to me. I grew you in my stomach for nine months!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, thanks for the free 9 month rent."

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you all enjoyed this little comedic one! I decided Maggie would be more of a tomboy, not romantic girly-girl when she aged. The kind of girl who will wear a sundress and makeup maybe once in a while, but won't be seen talking shop about fashion and boys with the other teenage girls. Ha, I guess we could assume she would be a total fandom bug like us!

I thought it would be more interesting to touch on Natasha's mama-bear instincts when it came to boys. Yeah, Steve's still terrified of the concept of Mags dating others, but he doesn't want to overreact and jeopardize the close relationship he has with her by stepping over the line. But he trusts her to be able to make the right decisions at her age. Nat does, too, but she has a harder time accepting it, but also doesn't want to mess up her relationship with her. So, she decides to be a total spy and follow them around on their dates ;D I figured Nat also might have more distaste towards the concept because we've seen her go undercover to be toyed around by dudes before. She knows they can be abusive first hand, so she wouldn't want that for her daughter!

Oops, I'm rambling again. xD See ya!


	17. Maybe

**A/N: **Daaaaaaaang this is a long one! Wasn't even intended to be this long! XP Just hit 70 faves and follows! :P Wow! You guys are awesome possum! Thanks so much~ :3

This one is based off an experience my family had when I was younger, and my little sister was a toddler. I brought home a nasty germ from preschool that completely wrecked her immune system, and after hearing my mom talk about her personal thoughts and experiences through the whole ordeal over the years (along with a few of the things I actually remember), I wanted to use it for Steve, Nat, and Mags. :O So, some of the things they go through in here, like feelings and personal experiences, are borrowed from my real life, I guess? XP

I apologize in advance for my lack of medical knowledge. When researching pneumonia in toddlers, it seems like the medical science behind it all has really improved! Apparently it can be treated with prescribed antibiotics at home now, assuming it isn't a really nasty form. Kudos to you, science! *applauds*

My update is overdue, I know. I've been a bit busier than usual in real life, and had to go through one of life's sadder obstacles. I also got a pretty discouraging comment in the reviews last chapter. I know, I shouldn't let it bother me too much, nor should I let it discourage me. For the most part, it hasn't, and I find it a bit humorous, but it has kinda been a negative effect on my motivation/creativity, y'know?

Anyway, sorry for the long author's note! Enjoy~ :)

* * *

"I'm gonna take her to the doctor's office. She hasn't improved at all these past few days."

Steve Rogers sighed at Natasha Romanoff's words. "Alright. I wish I didn't have to go on this mission so I could come with you."

"Don't worry, Steve, they'll probably just give her some antibiotics or something. I'll tell you all about it when you come home." Natasha reassured him.

Maggie had been suffering from a bad fever for the past couple of days, as well as a horrific cough and total loss of appetite. Both parents thought she might have caught some sort of flu bug, but Natasha decided to call Maggie's doctor's office just in case. After telling them her symptoms, they recommended that the spy bring her in later that evening for a quick check up to make sure it wasn't anything serious.

"Okay. I should be back home tonight." Steve replied, picking up his shield and hooking it on his back. He walked over to the couch where their feverish daughter sat, watching Disney's _Mulan, _and crouched down in front of her. "Hey, Mags, I'm going now, but I'll be home later, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. Bye." The three year old said tiredly, giving him a hug. He then released her, giving her a light kiss on the temple, and let her resume watching Mulan train with the other soldiers.

"Bye, Steve." Natasha gave him a peck after he walked back over. "Have fun."

"Thanks, I'll try." He chuckled, walking out the door. "See you later tonight." And with that, Natasha closed the door behind him.

"Alright, Лапушка, we're going to have to finish _Mulan _later." She said as she walked back over to Maggie.

"Why?" The toddler looked at her curiously as she coughed. Natasha laid a comforting hand on her back.

"I called the doctor earlier. They want us to come in so they can see what they can do to help you get better."

"Uncle Brucie?"

"No, not Uncle Brucie. Dr. Cooper, the one you go see for check ups. Remember him?" Maggie had an official pediatrician that she saw for check ups, but Bruce Banner also acted as a doctor for her. He mainly monitored her for any signs of the serum, though.

"Yeah. But why can't we see Uncle Brucie?"

"He's in New York with Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper, so he can't come help right now. Dr. Cooper can, though, so we are going to go see him. Let's go get changed, okay?"

"Okay." Maggie complied, and Natasha took her into her arms and carried her into her room to change. The spy's worries only increased as the usually energetic child seemed to be hanging tiredly in her arms, all her energy spent.

* * *

"I'm going to listen to your heart, so can you breathe deeply for me?"

"It's hard." Maggie replied, and Natasha tried to push down a deep feeling of dread.

"Try to do it as much as you can. It won't take long, I promise." Dr. Cooper gently encouraged her.

"Okay."

"Alright, now breathe in." He placed the cold stethoscope against her chest.

Maggie sucked in her breath, and Natasha could tell it was requiring a lot of energy.

"Now breathe out." And the toddler let go of the breath she was holding before breaking out into a small coughing fit.

"Okay..." The pediatrician said with a slight frown, scribbling some notes down on his clipboard. "I think we should do an X-Ray of her chest."

"Okay." Natasha said, unable to conceal the pang of worry in her voice.

"What's an X-Ray?" Maggie's curious voice lightened the mood.

* * *

Natasha hated hospitals. But now, she was starting to hate doctor's offices, too. Basically anything that could be associated with the medical field.

She had no idea what was going on, only able to draw one conclusion: something was seriously wrong with her daughter.

The two were sitting back in the original room they had been led to for the appointment, after Maggie's X-Ray. No one had said anything to her yet; she just watched as suddenly the medical staff members started moving fast.

_Very _fast. A speed that immediately told the spy something really was wrong.

Maggie, meanwhile, was curled up in her mother's lap, with her head against Natasha's chest. The older redhead could feel that the toddler was burning up, and coughs caused her small frame to shake with the effort of breathing.

_Damn it! Someone needs to tell me something! _Natasha internally cursed as she held Maggie tighter. With each minute going by, she felt her heart beat a little faster.

Finally, Dr. Cooper reappeared. "Okay, after examining the X-Rays," he began, standing in front of the two redheads, "we've determined that Maggie has fluid in her lungs. It seems to have built up in the space between her lungs and wall of her chest. That's called a pleural effusion, which is seen in patients with pneumonia. We want to take her in to the hospital for a few days and drain the fluid from her lungs. We have an ambulance ready."

Natasha opened and closed her mouth a few times, not sure what to say. She finally settled on, "Okay," and stood up slowly, still holding Maggie tightly. The toddler seemed unaware of what was going on.

As she followed the friendly pediatrician, Natasha was shell shocked. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her daughter was being admitted to the hospital. There was something very wrong with her health that needed to be treated.

_Maggie doesn't deserve this. _The redhead thought with a feeling of hopelessness. She knew life was cruel, as it had been to her; she believed that she herself deserved it and it was karma. But _this? _This was just unfair and brutal.

* * *

Natasha sighed as she laid on the hospital bed next to the finally sleeping Maggie. It had taken a lot of effort to get the toddler accustomed to everything, especially the breathing tube being inserted in her nose and the IV in her arm. She wasn't too keen on that, and cried for her mother to take her home through the entire ordeal. It had broken Natasha's heart; it was something she never wanted to have to witness. Watching her daughter go through that had pierced through her sharper than any wound she had experienced. Steve's absence made it worse, though she knew it wasn't his fault.

After a few minutes, Natasha grabbed her phone off the bedside table, careful not to disturb Maggie. She quickly dialed for Steve, wiping the stray tears that had escaped her eyes as if it would prepare her to make this call; in reality, nothing would.

"_Hey, Nat, we're just finishing up at the Triskelion. I should be home within the hour._"

"Actually, Steve..." Natasha cursed her shaking, upset voice that she knew Steve would be able to detect. "We aren't home right now." She spoke quietly since Maggie was sleeping.

"_Natasha, is everything okay? What's happening?_" Worry was evident in his voice.

"We're at the hospital. Maggie... She has pneumonia, with some bad fluid built up in and around her lungs... It's bad, Steve..." Natasha couldn't hide the subtle hint of fear in her voice, though the doctors had already assured her that Maggie would make a full recovery.

"_I'm coming right away. Which hospital?" _

The spy told him the address and room number, and they promptly ended the call afterwards. She then wrapped an arm around Maggie's sleeping form and held her close, as if she was going to disappear at any moment.

* * *

Steve never wanted to see his daughter hooked up to an IV and breathing through a tube in her nose. But that was the sight he walked in on when he entered the hospital room.

"Is she okay?" He asked breathlessly as he walked over to the bed.

"Yeah, they're giving her antibiotics to drain the fluids... But they want to monitor it for a few days to make sure it goes well." Natasha answered without looking up at him, still watching Maggie sleep.

Steve sighed as he sat down next to the bed on the opposite side Natasha was laying on, so Maggie was in between them. "Are _you _okay?"

"...I don't know." She replied honestly. She really had no clue how she was coping with everything. "It was scary..."

"I can only imagine. I'm sorry I wasn't there with you guys." He apologized, holding one of Maggie's hands.

"It's not your fault, Steve... It's no one's fault. Life just sucks like this."

A silence fell between them for a few moments. "Have you told anyone else yet? I told Fury and Hill since I needed to leave the meeting before it ended." Steve finally said.

"No, I've only managed to talk to you." She sighed. "I'm not ready to talk about it with anyone else yet."

"How long are they planning on keeping her here? I know you said a few days, but did they throw out any numbers?"

"One nurse guessed two or three nights. But it's going to be a day by day thing."

"Alright. I'll let Fury know that we are definitely going to be out for these next couple of days." Steve said, pulling out his phone. "This texting stuff is so convenient."

Natasha chuckled, genuinely smiling-not a reassuring one for her sickly daughter-for the first time since the ordeal began.

"It's ironic. Now I actually wished she was affected by your serum so we wouldn't have to worry about her getting sick like this." The redhead sighed.

"Yeah, I feel the same way. But at least she will grow up to be normal, right?" Steve tried to lighten the mood.

"As normal as possible with two Avengers for parents, as well as the rest of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for aunts and uncles." Natasha replied.

"I suppose there's that, too."

* * *

Neither parent wanted to leave their daughter alone in the hospital, so they spent the night.

Steve could see Natasha's protective maternal instincts were in overdrive, so he didn't even suggest getting another bed moved into the room for her to sleep in, nor offered to switch places with her in Maggie's bed.

Maggie woke up early the next morning, not long after the sun rose. She immediately saw Steve sleeping lightly in the chair next to the bed.

"Daddy?" She tried to wake him, squeezing the hand he had given her the night before while she was awake.

The soldier woke quickly, and smiled at the tired redhead. He leaned forward to talk to her. "Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"Better." She replied quietly. "But I wanna go home."

"I know you do, but we can't just yet. The doctors here want to make sure you're going to be okay first."

"How long do we have to stay?"

"Probably until tomorrow, or the day after. It depends on how fast you get better."

Natasha opened her eyes tiredly as the two were talking. She yawned and turned on her side so she was facing them. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Mama." Maggie replied.

"Are you feeling better, Лапушка?"

"Yeah, but I wanna go home."

Steve sighed, expecting a repeat of the exact same conversation he had just had with the toddler.

Natasha had heard that part of the conversation. "Well, like what Daddy said, we have to stay until you're all better."

"But I feel better." Steve held his breath as he felt they were on the potential verge of a meltdown.

"You're not completely healed, Лапушка. We have to let your lungs rest a little so they can heal." Natasha said gently.

Before Maggie could protest, a nurse came into the room, causing the toddler to cower into Natasha's chest. Natasha figured that Maggie was still very traumatized from the previous night's ordeal, and didn't trust any of the medical staff now.

"I'm just here to check on her and make sure everything's okay." The new arrival informed the two parents, who both nodded.

"Maggie, it's okay, this nice nurse is just here to make sure you're getting better." Steve tried to reassure her, but she didn't move.

"No."

"Come on, Лапушка, it'll only take a minute. She isn't going to hurt you." Natasha tried pushing her away gently.

"No!" Maggie still didn't move.

The two parents sighed. It was going to be a long hospital stay.

* * *

After a few more minutes of reassuring words, they managed to get Maggie to lie back down on her back and answer the nurse's questions as she made sure her IV was still good and gave her her next dose of antibiotics. She then left with a recommendation that they get Maggie to eat and drink something before letting her go back to sleep, which they knew would be harder than any mission Fury had given them.

It took a lot of persuading and bargaining, but they finally settled on Maggie earning one phone call to her godfather if she took a few bites. This ended up working, and the toddler practically demanded her mother's phone afterward.

"Alright, hold on, Лапушка, I'm going to talk to him first to tell him what's going on. Then he's all yours." Natasha said, silently praying he hadn't been sent on a mission and was unable to talk. Maggie just pouted, still very cranky, as the spy took the phone and got out of the bed before walking just outside the room.

She dialed for the archer and put the phone to her ear. She had no idea how to explain what was happening or anything, and knew that it would upset Clint just as much. He answered quickly.

"_Hey, Nat, what's up?_" Came his friendly greeting.

Natasha took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She paused, not sure how to say what she was going to. "Where are you right now?" She settled on; this wasn't good news to share if he was driving or doing something that required his full attention.

"_Uh, I'm in DC right now, actually. Fury called and said I might get a new mission soon. Why?_"

"Maggie's in the hospital." She decided to be straightforward.

"_What?_"

"She was admitted to the hospital last night with pneumonia and has to stay here for a few days." Natasha hated thinking about it just as much as talking about it.

"_Which hospital are you at? I'm coming over right away._"

"I'll send you the address, but she wants to talk to you now. We used you as a bargaining tool to get her to eat something."

Normally, Clint would have found it hilarious. But given the circumstances, he found it concerning the toddler who was normally always hungry needed that much incentive to eat. "Put her on." He said to Natasha over the phone.

There was some shuffling on the other end of the phone, and the Natasha's voice saying "_Here, Лапушка, he's ready to talk to you_." in the background as the cell phone was passed over. Finally, Maggie's tired voice reached his ears. "_Uncle Clint?_"

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" He said gently.

"_I feel kinda bad but I wanna go home._" He could tell she was having a horrible day.

"I know you do, kid. Hospitals are scary, huh?"

"_Yeah, Uncle Clint, they had to put a needle in my arm and a tube in my nose! It hurt." _

She sounded frightened, tired, and overall, traumatized. "I'm sorry they had to do that, Mags. But it'll make you feel better."

There was a pause. Then, "_Will you come visit me?_" Maggie requested quietly, almost pitifully. Clint wanted to just tightly embrace her and tell her everything would be okay. But he couldn't do that over the phone.

"Of course I will. I'll come right after we end this call."

"_Promise?_"

"I promise."

"_Okay. I love you._"

"Love you, too. Can you hand the phone back to your mom now so I can get the address from her?"

"_Okay._" She sounded reluctant to let him go, and Clint sighed. A frightened Maggie was a clingy Maggie. He was upset that she was so terrified.

"_Thanks for doing that, Clint._" Came Natasha's voice a few moments later.

"Don't even go there, you know I would be there already if I could. I hate hearing her sound so scared."

"_Oh, yeah, it's been rough over here. Last night before Steve came was pretty eventful, like what she said about the IV and breathing tube._"

"I'm sorry. I can only imagine what it was like to have to watch all of that."

"_I'm just glad that that part is over. Now it's just trying to keep her entertained and as happy as possible for the rest of her stay._"

"I will gladly do my part in that. Want me to spread the message to the rest of the guys?"

"_Not yet. I don't think we should crowd her, or cause a huge scene at the hospital by having all of the Avengers present._" She sighed.

"Good point. Alright, well, send me the address and I'm coming now." He said and they soon ended the call.

* * *

Natasha and Steve had switched places during the phone call. He was now lying in the bed, a bit uncomfortably, with Maggie, trying to give her as much space as possible.

Said toddler was currently leaning her head against him as she laid in bed, sucking her thumb. Natasha ran a hand through Maggie's hair comfortingly as she sat down in the chair beside them, having just ended the call. "Uncle Clint's on his way now. Do you want to try and get some sleep before he comes?"

Maggie fiercely shook her head. "I wanna see him."

"Knowing him, he'll probably still be here when you wake up." Steve joked.

The young redhead still protested, even as she yawned.

"Are you _sure _you don't want to sleep?" Natasha teased lightly. "You look sleepy."

"I'm not!" Maggie protested crankily, tears visible in her eyes. Neither parent was surprised she was so grumpy after everything, so they backed off and just let her fight against sleep.

Clint had managed to beat her body's demand for sleep, as he strode into the room quickly about 15 minutes later, looking worried.

"Uncle Clint." Maggie said with a lazy smile, as she tried to fight against closing her droopy eyelids.

"Hey, kiddo." He said gently as he took the other seat next to Natasha, who smiled gratefully at him. "How are you?" He asked, though already knew the answer.

"Okay." Maggie replied, and Clint took her small hand in his comfortingly. "Better now that you're here." She added.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Clint smiled.

"Okay, Uncle Clint is here now, so I think you can sleep now." Natasha urged.

"Can he tell me a story?" She asked sleepily.

"Sure, kid, as long as you close your eyes." He complied, and she nodded with a yawn. Steve and Natasha shared a victorious look with one another as Clint began telling her about his latest mission.

* * *

"Well this officially sucks." Clint whispered to Natasha about 10 minutes later, as both Maggie and her father had fallen asleep. Natasha figured Steve didn't sleep very well in the chair, so he needed more rest.

"It really does. I hate hospitals." The spy grumbled.

"How are you and Steve holding up?"

"We're okay, I guess. Just want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"That's understandable."

Natasha sighed exasperatedly, and leaned back in her chair. Clint took the moment to take in her appearance. There were slight bags under her eyes, and she looked more stressed than he had ever seen her before, even on the worst missions they had been on together. There was also a subtle hint of fear in her eyes, mixed in with an overwhelming sense of worry and concern.

"It was awful last night, Clint. Her pediatrician told me I took her in just in time, that there would've been many more risks and complications if I had waited a day longer..." She admitted quietly.

Clint knew she was sugar coating things a bit by saying "risks and complications." He sighed, and pulled her in for a half hug, since his other hand was holding onto Maggie's. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Nat. No parent should have to."

"I deserve it... But Maggie doesn't. Karma sucks."

"You do _not _deserve this, Nat. No one does. Stop feeling like you have to suffer to make up for your past. You already made up for it by joining S.H.I.E.L.D. and fighting for the good guys."

Natasha just closed her tired eyes and sighed. "All this time, I thought she was at the risk of being hurt by _people. _Ones who wanted to try and hurt Steve or me. But instead, she's going up against something so... _domestic_, it's weird and ironic."

"I feel the same way. I don't know how to protect her from things like this." Clint replied.

"Hey, that was my line." She teased.

"Great minds think alike."

* * *

Later that day, Natasha had resumed her spot in bed with Maggie as they watched some bland children's programming on the hospital TV. Clint and Steve had gone to retrieve her car from the doctor's office parking lot after she remembered she had left it there the previous day. Steve was also stopping by the house to pick up some more clothes for all three of them and toys for Maggie, as well as take a quick shower since he hadn't been home since before his mission the previous day. Meanwhile, Clint was getting some food for all of them at the hospital cafeteria after returning.

Maggie was sucking her thumb and her head was draped against Natasha's chest with her eyes up on the TV. Natasha had an arm around the toddler as she just laid there in quiet thought. Trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening.

She was interrupted by her phone ringing on the bedside table, though, and she picked it up. According to the called ID, Tony was calling, and she raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Maggie had started learning to read a bit before she turned three, and was able to recognize the names of her family members when they were spelled out. "Uncle Tony's calling you." She informed her mother, who was still looking at her phone confused.

"Yeah, he is. Good reading, Лапушка." She smiled and kissed her the top of her daughter's head. "Should I answer it?" She asked with a playful and teasing smile.

"Yeah! I wanna talk to him." Maggie said enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay, hold on." Natasha giggled, and answered it. "Hello?"

"_Tasha, why is the top news story about you and Cap being seen going into the hospital?_"

The spy's jaw dropped. "What?" Oh, how she hated the press.

"_It's all over the news, Black Widow and Captain America seen going to the hospital. Separately, that is, with him going in later last night. Then Hawkeye earlier this morning and then then he left with Capsicle later in the day? Natasha, what's going on?_"

She could hear the pang of worry in his voice at the end of his summary. She knew he was really asking, "Is Maggie okay?" "Tony... We're at the hospital because Maggie was admitted last night. She has pneumonia. She's going to be okay but we have been here since last night and we have to stay at least one more night."

"_When the hell were you planning on telling the rest of us?_" He sounded angry, but she knew he was more concerned than anything.

"I'm sorry, Tony, it's just been really stressful trying to deal with all... This." She said tiredly. "It's been hell and Clint only found out because we needed to use him as a bargaining tool for her to eat and she's scared and sick and all of this is just... Overwhelming." Her voice had cracked towards the end of her explanation, so she cut to the chase with a sigh. "Look, I wasn't trying to hide this from you or anything, I just haven't had a good chance to tell you."

"_It's okay, Tasha. I'm sorry I got angry. I'm just worried for the squirt. How's she doing?_"

Natasha was silently impressed that he actually apologized to her, but she didn't dwell on it for long. "Better, definitely. But still very against the whole concept of staying in the hospital." She said with an amused tone. "She also wants to talk to you. Feel free to pass off the phone to anyone else there while you're at it."

Maggie's hand was reaching for phone eagerly, and Natasha passed it to her. The toddler put the phone to her ear. "Uncle Tony?"

"_Hey, squirt. How are you feeling?_"

"Good. The nurse said I can go home tomorrow!"

"She said _maybe, _Лапушка."

Tony smirked in amusement at the two redheads on the other end of the phone. Pepper was still looking to him for an explanation, as was Bruce, both looking extremely concerned. "Well, that's good news. That means you're healing very well. Congratulations."

"_Can you come visit me?_" Her expectant voice came, along with Natasha's. "_Maggie, he's still in New York with Aunt Pepper and Uncle Brucie. They can come visit us when we go home, okay?" _

Tony figured she didn't want to attract more attention by having every single Avenger walk through those hospital doors. "Don't worry, kid, we'll come visit soon. Right now, we just want you to work on getting better, okay?"

"_I'm trying, Uncle Tony._"

"Then you're on the right track. Now, do you want to talk to Aunt Pepper?"

"_Yeah!_" She replied excitedly.

"Okay, hold on two seconds." He said and turned back to the other two people in the room. "Alright, long story short, the kid was admitted last night for pneumonia, but she's on the path to a full and speedy recovery, maybe leaving tomorrow." He said quietly, covering the microphone of the cell phone. Not giving them a chance to react, he then put it back to his ear. "Alright, I love you, here she is." He handed the phone off to Pepper, who was now eager to talk to Maggie.

"Hello?" She greeted when she put it to her ear.

"_Auntie Pep!_" Came the enthusiastic reply, causing her to smile.

As she was engaged into conversation with the toddler, Bruce turned to Tony. "So she's getting better?"

"Yeah. But Tasha's freaked out, and I imagine Capsicle and Birdbrain are as well, 'cause I am."

"Pneumonia can be pretty scary. For Maggie to be admitted, she must have been having a hard time breathing these past couple of days."

"Poor kid."

"No kidding. But at least she'll be better soon."

Before Tony could reply, Pepper came over to them.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you." She announced cheerfully, handing Bruce the phone.

* * *

After dinner, Clint decided to leave so the two parents could start settling Maggie down for the night. She protested and cried at first, but he promised and reassured her he would be back the next morning, so she finally let go of his hand.

Maggie then requested Steve to share the bed with her for the night, so they settled that and hoped she would be ready for bed then. However, she was not.

"Can we call Aunt Pepper again?" She requested.

"No, Mags, it's getting late. She and Uncle Tony and Uncle Brucie are probably going to bed already, like we should." Steve tried to convince her.

"But I'm not tired!" She protested firmly.

Natasha sighed, feeling frustrated. Her phone vibrated beside her, and she saw she had a text message from Fury, which she thought was curious. She opened her phone.

_Just thought I'd check in and see how Maggie is. Also to tell you that if you need a new distraction for her, I'm free for the rest of the night. _

Nights off were practically nonexistent for the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha knew. She turned back to the pouting and insistent toddler, and figured they could use some new help.

"Alright, how about this." She began, grabbing the attention of both Steve and Maggie. "If Uncle Nick comes to visit for a little while, will you go to sleep afterwards?"

Steve shot her a puzzled look, and she just gave him a look that said "I'll explain later." Maggie, meanwhile, nodded eagerly. "I wanna see Uncle Nick!"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell him." Natasha chuckled, texting him back to let him know Maggie was very excited to see him, along with the hospital address and room number.

* * *

"Uncle Nick!" Maggie said happily as she sat up in bed, obviously doing much better than the night before. Steve chuckled as she used his reclining body to lean up against and face Fury as he sat down in the chair next to Natasha.

"Hello, Maggie. I heard you haven't been feeling well." He said.

"Uh-uh." She shook her head. "But I feel better now."

"That's good. I'm glad you feel better. Now, then, I assume you would like to hear a story."

"Yes, please!" Natasha smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm. It was nice to see some of her old energy return, since it meant that she was getting better.

"Alright. Lay down and get comfortable, this is going to be a long one." He directed, and she obeyed and laid on her side so she was facing him. Steve readjusted so she had plenty of room. Fury began his story. "One time, I sent your mama to spy on your Uncle Tony by pretending to be his assistant..."

* * *

Maggie had fallen asleep towards the end of Fury's story, for which both parents were grateful.

"Alright, I'll leave you two to it." He said quietly as he leaned over to kiss Maggie's forehead, and then stood up.

"Thanks again, Fury." Steve said from the bed, as he was trapped by the toddler who was currently curled up into him with her arm draped across his chest.

"Yeah, if you hadn't come, we were going to have a hell of a time trying to get her down for the night." Natasha added.

"I'm glad I could help." He smirked in reply, and walked towards the door. "Call me again if you ever need a distraction; I could use an excuse to get away from S.H.I.E.L.D. every once in a while."

"We might take you up on that." Natasha chuckled. He then left the room with a small wave.

"Here's to the hope that this is our last night here." Steve said when Natasha sat back down next to the bed.

"Indeed. I really want to go home." The spy said with a tired sigh.

"Me too."

* * *

"_We're sorry, we did everything we could…"_

"_If only you had brought her in one day sooner…" _

"_Time of death…" _

_Natasha couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her daughter couldn't be dead, no, that wasn't possible. It couldn't be true… _

"_Oh, Nat, why didn't you bring her in sooner? Why did you wait so long?" _

"_Steve, I…" She had no idea what was going on around her, and just stared at Steve blankly._

"_Our daughter is dead, because of you!" _

_His voice pierced through her like a sharp knife to her heart. _

_This couldn't be happening, she kept repeating over and over to herself. Maggie can't be dead, she's barely even three, she has so much more of her life to live. It couldn't be cut short like that! Just last week she had been running around and causing mayhem everywhere she went. An endless ball of energy. And yet… _

"_Mama?" _

_Natasha felt the lifeless eyes of Maggie stare into her soul. "Maggie, I'm sorry, I didn't…" _

"_Mama?" Something was different about the way the toddler was calling for her. _

"Mama?"

Natasha woke with a start, and looked down at Maggie, who was staring up at her curiously. She then realized it was morning, and she had been dreaming. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed, trying to calm herself back down as she reflected on the events of the nightmare. It stemmed from the fears she had housed ever since Maggie had come into the world, and the recent events of the past few days just reminded her of how realistic they were.

"Are you okay?" Maggie's concerned voice brought the spy back to the present.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Лапушка." Natasha smiled, and leaned forward to kiss Maggie's forehead gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Can we go home now?"

_Same question as yesterday._ She mused, and gave Maggie's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe, but it depends on what the nurse thinks."

"I hope we can."

"I hope so, too."

"Can I watch TV?"

"Sure." Natasha grabbed the remote off of the bedside table and turned the TV on. She flipped through the channels, reading off the names of the different shows-ones that were appropriate, of course-until Maggie picked one.

During this, Steve woke up. After hearing how the toddler felt, he announced he had to use the restroom, causing both redheads to giggle. When he got up, Maggie requested Natasha to join her in the bed, which the spy was more than happy to do, especially after the horrible dream she had had. During the switching and moving, she checked her phone and saw it was just after 8:00 AM. _Not too early. Thank God._ She thought as she texted Clint, letting them know they were all awake so he could come whenever he wanted.

He immediately replied saying he would be there between 8:30 and 9:00, which Natasha repeated to Maggie to let her know that he was indeed coming. She smiled happily, and then resumed playing with the stuffed animals Steve had brought for her from home the previous day.

Clint arrived while the nurse was doing her daily rounds of checking in, and heard the good news that Maggie would be able to be discharged later that day. Her fever had gone down significantly, and the breathing tube and IV would be removed soon as well, which caused both parents and the archer to sigh, knowing it wouldn't be a fun experience.

Maggie had regained a lot of the energy she seemed to have been lacking for the entirety of the time she had been sick. Though she was definitely not 100%, she was able to hold up a conversation with Clint and get him and her parents to play with her, using her stuffed animals and imagination.

About an hour and a half later, a few nurses came in to remove the tube and IV. Maggie had been surprisingly cooperative, after being reassured by her parents that it would be over fairly quickly. She ate more than just a few small bites at lunch, for which they were eternally grateful, and then Clint left them to pack up and get ready to go home.

Maggie was discharged afterwards, and was more than happy to be leaving. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics for her to take for the following week, as he noted that not all the fluid was gone from her lungs; just enough to be dealt with at home. He then scheduled a follow-up appointment for the final day Maggie was expected to take the prescribed medication. The two Avengers thanked him extensively and walked out of the room happily, Natasha carrying Maggie and Steve carrying all their stuff.

"Oh, Captain, can I speak to you for just a moment?" The doctor called the older hero back in.

Steve told Natasha, "I'll meet you by the elevator." and walked back to the doctor. "Yes, doctor, what is it?"

"Maggie's body healed incredibly quickly." He told Steve quietly. "She probably would have been okay leaving yesterday with that prescription, in fact."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is she might be affected by the serum." He replied. "Even though she shows no other signs of it yet, and was able to get sick, her body managed to heal incredibly fast. When she was first brought in, she was laying in bed miserably, and now she appears strong enough to run from here down to the main entrance. Of course, I'm not telling you to let her do that. I'm telling you to just keep watching for more signs of the serum having effects on her."

"Okay…" Steve nodded, and then shook his hand. "Thanks, Doc."

"Don't mention it. Now, as much as I enjoy being able to see Captain America, I don't want to see you back for a long time. Stay healthy." He said playfully and dismissed Steve.

* * *

"What'd the doctor tell you about?" Natasha asked as they got into the elevator, Maggie beaming brightly up at her father from her mother's arms.

"Oh, uh, I'll tell you later when we get home. It's not important now." Steve replied, and Natasha could tell he meant, "I'll tell you when we're alone."

"Alright. Are you excited to go home, Лапушка?" Natasha changed the subject, turning to the happy toddler in her arms.

"Yeah! 'Cause that means Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper and Uncle Brucie can come visit now!" Maggie said happily.

"Oh, yeah, that's right." Natasha replied, bouncing her lightly. "And now we can finish _Mulan_!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

A week later, after Maggie was deemed 100% healthy and the doctor reiterated his theory that the serum was helping out, the two Avengers watched Maggie animatedly tell Pepper and Tony all about her experience in the hospital and at home for the past week and a half.

"I think the doc was onto something when he suggested the serum starting to take effect." Clint commented to the two parents and Bruce. "She seems as good as new already."

"No kidding. I read online that it usually takes about two weeks of for kids to really recover from pneumonia after beginning treatment, and yet if you saw her today you wouldn't be able to tell what we've been through this past week and a half." Natasha replied.

"Has she shown any other signs?" Bruce asked curiously.

"None that we've seen." Steve sighed. "She seems to have the average strength and endurance of a girl her age, and still gets sick, obviously. So far it just seems that she's good at bouncing back and recovering quickly."

"Guess we'll have to be on the lookout even more now." Clint said.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow! My longest installment to date. Still can't believe it! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)

So, this is also my way of saying I've been thinking long and hard of how I should play the serum card with Maggie. Basically from this chapter, and the one with 17 year old Maggie when Steve and Nat were missing, you can infer that the serum's effects develop as her body does. I am planning on having a specific one shot that delves into this process and kinda provides an overview of how it all works out over time. Long story short, she starts out normal, but then the serum starts showing a few effects-the first incident being here, with Mags recovering fairly quickly. I figured since the serum was a one time deal with Steve as the only successful test subject, I had some leeway and room to work with as far as creativity goes when presenting the concept of the serum's effects in her. :P

See ya next time!


	18. Father's Day

**A/N: **Uh, yeah, I know, I suck. It's been over a week since the last update, whoops... Sorry guys, just haven't been really feeling motivated; I've had some serious writing block, as well as having to say goodbye to someone I have no idea when/if I'll ever see again... It's been kinda rough, busy, and emotional. Not to mention seeing _Wicked, Maleficent, _and _The Fault in Our Stars_ nearly consecutively in the midst of all this. EMOTIONS.

So, yeah, this one is pretty short compared to the last one and it was my backup plan for a Father's Day installment. I originally had a different idea that would be focusing on Steve and just Maggie's existence in general-kinda like how I posted 'Miracle in the Making' for Mother's Day-but it ended up not really working out. Sigh. Hopefully there will be more fun things to come soon!

Thanks for the faves, follows, and positive reviews! You all are more awesome than a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies :3 Enjoy~

* * *

"Uh, what's all this?" Natasha Romanoff raised an eyebrow as she walked through the front door of her home that was now heavily decorated in American colors. There were colored streamers hanging from the walls and ceiling, as well as a few small plastic flags.

"It's for Father's Day!" Eleven year old Maggie poked her head out of the entrance to the kitchen a few feet ahead of Natasha. "Uncle Clint and I went to the party store and bought a bunch of red, white, and blue stuff so we could decorate the house for Daddy!"

"And now you can just leave everything up and you'll be ready for the Fourth coming up next month." Clint added from the living room.

"Wow, that's… Creative." Natasha chuckled, for lack of a better word. She walked into the kitchen after Maggie pulled her head back in, and noted it was as heavily decorated as what she had seen of the rest of the house. "Daddy will love it."

"I hope so! He should, anyway, since he's Captain America." Maggie said confidently as she hung a flag up on the refrigerator doors with magnets.

"Did you make him a card?" Natasha inquired.

"Yeah! You gotta sign it, too!" The younger redhead exclaimed, hurrying out of the room and nearly running into Clint. "Sorry, Uncle Clint!" She laughed as she passed him.

"Man, that kid's always in a hurry." Clint laughed as he walked over to Natasha.

"You guys seriously went to the party store and practically bought out their entire Fourth of July section?" She asked in amusement as she ran her hand through some of the streamers.

"More or less." He replied with a toothy grin. "And before you worry, we used coupons and Tony's credit card to pay for it all."

"That's good enough for me." She smirked.

Maggie then entered the room with her drawing. "I worked really hard on this drawing! It was hard to keep it a secret from Daddy." She said, handing it to Natasha with a pen for her to sign. It was a drawing of the three of them wearing happy smiles on their faces, brightly colored hearts surrounding them. Above them, it said, "Happy Father's Day!"

"Well, I think it's beautiful, Лапушка." Natasha smiled, giving Maggie a light kiss on her forehead. "Are you sure you want me to sign it, though? You drew it all yourself."

"Well, just draw a happy face or something in the corner and sign next to that! Then you will have added to the drawing." Maggie reasoned.

"Good idea." Clint commented.

"Alright, alright." The spy laughed, doing as her daughter instructed.

"When's Daddy coming home?"

"Later tonight. It might be after you go to bed, though."

"Can we wait up for him? Pleeeaaaaase?" She drew out the last word. "Tomorrow's Father's Day!"

Natasha gave an exaggerated sigh, making Maggie giggle. "Sure."

"Hooray!" Maggie cheered triumphantly. "Oh! Uncle Clint, we should show Mama your card!"

"_Your_ card?" Natasha turned to Clint curiously.

"More like everyone's card. Come on, I'll show you." He answered vaguely, and the three walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He picked up a large piece of construction paper off the table and handed it to her.

"'Happy Father's Day even though you aren't our dad.'" Natasha read out loud. "'You're a cool dad and awesome superhero! We love you! Love, The Avengers and co.' Maggie, why do I have a feeling you wrote this?" She asked her daughter suspiciously, though there was amusement in her voice.

"Maybe I wrote it, maybe I didn't, but Uncle Clint got everyone to sign it! Well, almost everyone, at least. I only gave him two days to pass it around." Maggie explained.

"Uh, yeah, you should definitely give me more of a 'head's up' next time I have to chase down everyone." Clint commented, causing Maggie to stick her tongue out at him.

Natasha smiled at all the little notes and signatures scattered over the page. She knew it would be well received.

* * *

After dinner, Clint left the two redheads so he could go home to his DC apartment for the evening and return to Stark Tower in the morning. The mother daughter duo then sat on the couch and watched Disney movies for the rest of the evening, singing along to the majority of the songs and waiting for their super soldier to return.

Finally, just after 11:00 PM, Natasha's phone vibrated on the table in front of them. She carefully maneuvered around Maggie, who had fallen asleep with her head on her mother's lap. The phone displayed a text message from Steve Rogers.

_Just returned to the Triskelion, finally. Fury's letting me go early so I'm leaving soon. I should be back around midnight. Don't wait up for me._

_Always so concerned about how much sleep we get_. Natasha mused as she replied, letting him know she got the message. After setting her phone back down, she looked down at Maggie's sleeping form and sighed. Natasha could not really carry her daughter in her arms anymore; she was just too big. That meant she would have to wake her.

_She looks so peaceful, though_. Natasha silently debated the pros and cons of waking her up and making her go to bed, since Steve wasn't home yet and Maggie would probably prefer not to be woken until he returned.

She finally decided on just waiting until Steve arrived, since it wouldn't be too long until he did, anyway. Natasha focused on the ending of _Aladdin_ playing on their TV. Soon, she dozed off as well.

* * *

Steve walked through the front door, feeling exhausted. He frowned at the light coming from the living room, meaning that Natasha hadn't gone to bed yet. As he walked in, he took in the brightly decorated surroundings, confused. Natasha had woken up right as he entered the house, and had her hidden gun ready.

"Whoa, Nat, it's just me." He said softly, and she quickly lowered the gun apologetically. "Sorry, old habits die hard." She sighed sheepishly in reply.

"It's okay. What are you two still doing out here?" He asked curiously, gesturing to the still sleeping Maggie. "And what happened to the house?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot it looked like Captain America threw up in here. No offense" She teased with a smirk, and he rolled his eyes playfully. "I didn't feel like waking her to get her to go to bed, so you can do it."

Steve crouched down in front of the couch and gently shook their daughter awake, and it only took a few seconds for her tired blue eyes to meet his. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Mags, I just got home."

"Oh, good, Mama said we could wait for you." She smiled sleepily and sat up.

"I figured. What's with all the decorations?"

"Uncle Clint and I bought them from the party store. Since tomorrow's Father's Day, and you're Captain America, we thought we should put up red, white, and blue decorations for you when you got home. Do you like it?"

"I love it." Steve smiled. "Thank you, Maggie."

She instinctively reached her arms out, and he pulled her into his arms. After all, he had super strength, so he still could carry her, though he scarcely did anymore. "I'm glad you like it." She yawned, laying her head on his shoulder tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Just past midnight, Лапушка." Natasha answered, getting up off the couch and turning off the TV.

"Then it's Father's Day! Happy Father's Day, Daddy." Maggie said sleepily.

"Thanks, Mags." Steve chuckled. "But for me, every day is Father's Day." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"You say that every year!" Maggie commented.

"But it's true." He said, and she yawned again. "I think it's time for bed."

Maggie didn't protest, and after shutting off all the lights, Steve carried the eleven year old into her bedroom and Natasha followed closely behind.

"Goodnight, Maggie." He said softly after setting her down in her bed.

"Nighty night. I love you."

"I love you, too. See you in the morning." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and stepped aside to let Natasha have her turn.

"Goodnight, Лапушка." The spy said.

"Can't we technically say 'good morning'?"

"I guess technically."

"Then, good morning."

Natasha gave an amused smile and kissed Maggie's cheek. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

And with that, Maggie was already asleep by the time Natasha and Steve even left the room.

* * *

"Cards! We gotta do cards!" Maggie exclaimed as she jumped onto her parents' bed the following morning, holding the cards in her hands. "Wake up!"

Both Avengers just groaned in reply. "Mags, what time is it?" Steve asked groggily.

"It's 8:45! AKA, time to get up! It's Father's Day!"

"Did you hear that, Steve? It's Father's Day, so get up and appease your eager daughter." Natasha's voice was muffled as she had pushed her face into her pillow in a poor attempt of blocking out Maggie's loud entrance.

"If it's Father's Day, then I should be able to relax, shouldn't I-"

"Daddy! You gotta read your cards!" Maggie insisted, jumping on top of him.

"Can we just have five more minutes?"

"No!"

"Y'know, I thought these early morning hype sessions would end when you reached middle school age, Лапушка." Natasha wondered if Maggie would always be this childish and energetic, despite what age she was. She knew deep down, though, that she enjoyed the youthful aura Maggie always gave off, and the spy never wanted this playfulness to go away.

"School literally just ended, Mama. I'm barely a sixth grader." Maggie replied as if it were obvious.

"Close enough. Anyways, you're still growing, so I think you should get more sleep."

"But it's almost 9:00!"

"I just fought off bad guys not even 12 hours ago..."

"Daddy, please?" Maggie pouted, meeting his tired eyes with an exaggerated sad expression.

Steve sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'm up. You can get off me now." Maggie smiled happily and scooted off him, sitting at the foot of the bed.

A snort of laughter came from Natasha's side. "Wow, you still fall for her pleading; I can't believe this."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Nat." Steve sat up with a yawn.

"Come on, Mama!" Maggie urged her mother. "You have to watch, too!"

"Alright, alright." Natasha yawned, turning her body towards them so she could see. "I'm watching."

"Which one should I give him first?" Maggie couldn't decide as she examined the two cards.

"How about the one from Uncle Clint and everyone?" Natasha suggested. "And then ours."

"Okay!" Maggie handed Steve the larger piece of paper, and he read it out loud quietly to himself. He was amused that he was receiving a card from the Avengers. He chuckled at the main message, knowing his daughter had written it. Then he moved onto the small notes scattered over the paper.

_Happy Father's Day, Steve! You're an awesome father. Maggie looks up to you so much and she couldn't have a better dad! And you being Captain America is pretty cool, too, I guess. - Clint_ _Barton_

_Capsicle, keep being a good dad for the munchkin. She's good (most of the time) and I know she gets that from you. (No offense, Tasha.) - Tony Stark_

_Happy Father's Day! You are an amazing father, Steve. Maggie will sometimes talk nonstop about you; she loves you and Natasha so much! Have a great day! - Pepper Potts_

_Cap, you're not only an honorable leader, but also a great father. I'm sure Maggie will grow up to lead people just like you. Happy Father's Day. - Bruce Banner_

_Lord Steven, there is no better father for Lady Margaret than you. Midguard is lucky to have men like you. - Thor _

_Happy Father's Day, Cap. It's amazing how good you are at being an incredible father as well as one of Earth's greatest heroes. Even if you weren't a superhero, I know Maggie would love you the same. See you around. - Maria Hill_

_Well, Captain Rogers, I think it's safe to say "Mission Success" for being a father. Maggie is a bright, intelligent, and compassionate young girl thanks to you and Natasha. You two have both done your parts in raising her well, though there are still many things left for you to teach her. Keep up the good work. - Nick Fury _

"Wow, how did you guys get all these signatures?" Steve asked the two redheads curiously after looking up from the card.

"It was a last minute idea I had a few days ago when I was with Uncle Clint! He took the card to Stark Tower and then to the Triskelion. We didn't have enough time to get Uncle Sam or Uncle Bucky to sign it, though." Maggie admitted sadly.

"It's okay, Mags, I love it just the way it is." Steve assured her. "Thank you for coming up with the idea. I'll have to call Uncle Clint and everyone else later to thank them as well."

"You're welcome! Now, look at our card!" Maggie handed him her drawing.

"I think it's more from Maggie than me. She drew it all by herself." Natasha informed Steve proudly.

"Mama added the smiley face in the corner."

Steve smiled happily as he closely examined the detailed drawing. He noted all the small things Maggie had included-the different colored designs on his Captain America uniform, Natasha's guns on her legs and widow's bites on her wrists, and accurate hair and eye color for all three of them.

"Thank you so much." He finally said, opening his arms up. Maggie responded quickly by launching herself into them and wrapping her arms around his neck happily. "I love this drawing. It must have taken you so long."

"It did! I've been working on it for a while; it was hard to hide it from you sometimes." She explained.

"Well, thank you." He repeated.

"Do you like Mama's part?"

"Yes, I do. Nice smiley face, Nat."

"Thank you! I am quite proud of it, actually." Natasha beamed.

"I love you." Maggie pulled out of the hug just enough so she could meet Steve's eyes.

He smiled and kissed her forehead gently. "I love you, too."

"Now, can we go make breakfast?" Maggie looked between her two parents curiously.

"Always hungry. Alright, let's go. We should serve Daddy breakfast in bed." Natasha suggested.

"Good idea! Let's go!" Maggie jumped off of him and hurried out of the room. "Come on, Mama!" She called behind her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Natasha yelled in reply, getting out of the bed. "Happy Father's Day. You've survived another year, Rogers."

"Thanks. I plan on sticking around for many more." Steve chuckled. "I also plan on calling Clint later to ask him about his adventure of getting these signatures, especially Fury's."

"Oh, I definitely want to be around for that." She smirked, giving him a quick peck on the lips before exiting the room.

* * *

**A/N: **Whhhhaaaaaatttt? _Uncle Bucky_?! *suspense music* Haha, yes, I plan on bringing everyone's favorite best friend of Steve! I already have some form of a oneshot for this in mind, so it's coming eventually. :D


	19. I Thought I Lost You

**A/N: **Welp, it's 2 AM, and I'm still horrible at updating, lol. XD Sorry, guys. Not sure how I feel about this one either, hmm.

Thanks for the nice reviews, faves, and follows! You all are super duper! :D

* * *

"You're going on a _date?!_" The nine year old practically screeched.

"Yes, Mags, I am. I've been on a couple dates with her already, actually; her name is Bobbi." Clint Barton answered as he continued getting ready. "She's a really good friend of mine, but she might become more. You've met her a few times before, but it was a really long time ago and you were little. I've mentioned her in some of my stories, remember?"

"Yeah." Maggie didn't know what else to say, but felt as if her world was crashing down. She anxiously followed the archer out of his bedroom and into the living room area where Tony was sitting.

"Oh, you clean up nice, Birdbrain." The billionaire teased as he looked up at them.

"Thanks, Stark." Clint rolled his eyes. He looked down at his watch. "I gotta go now. We agreed to meet at the restaurant at 8:00."

"Alright, well, have fun, don't go too crazy tonight." Tony waved his hand in a farewell manner. "And remember that we have a child in our presence tonight, so no _you-know-what _after your date. At least, not here."

"Ew, okay, I'm leaving now." Clint turned away from Tony grossed out. "Bye, Mags." He said, crouching down in front of her and pulling her into his arms.

"I'll see you later, okay?" He placed a kiss to her temple.

"Okay." She replied reluctantly.

"...If you don't want me to go on my date, Mags, it's fine." Clint said after evaluating her behavior and trying to read her emotions for a moment. "I can stay with you tonight."

As much as the redhead wanted to say yes, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her conscience told her that she had to let him go. "No, I want you to go on your date." She insisted with a forced smile.

The archer didn't look too convinced, and shot a concerned glance at Tony. The genius dismissed him with his hand, as if saying _I'll handle this._ Clint sighed, and stood up. He gave one last wave of his hand before the elevator doors closed.

After she was sure he was gone, Maggie whirled around and practically ran out of the room.

"Kid, wait!" Tony called, chasing after her, but she slammed her bedroom door in his face. "Squirt?" He tried again.

"Go away." Her voice was muffled by the door.

Tony sighed, figuring that he might as well give her some space for a while. "I'll be coming back in a little while." He informed her before walking back out into the main room.

Taking back the spot he was initially sitting in, he said, "JARVIS, pull up the feed from Maggie's room, please."

"_Certainly, sir._"

The billionaire sighed as he watched the nine year old curl up on her bed, knowing that she would only shut him out if he pushed her too hard. They had learned the hard way that her hair color was not the only thing Maggie seemed to have gotten from her mother.

* * *

Maggie sighed as she twisted and turned the small arrow charm necklace Clint had given her for her seventh birthday in her fingers. She had always wanted one just like her mother's, not only due to childish tendencies of wanting to be just like everyone around her, but also because of its meaning-the connection and link it provided the wearer with the archer. It wasn't exactly the same as the one Clint gave the spy, but it was very similar and Maggie treasured it. She wore it every day and took extra care not to lose it.

It had been about 20 minutes since Tony promised he would return, and in that time Maggie had cried into her pillow over the raging storm of emotions coursing through her ever since Clint informed her he was going on a date. Her family often described her as being mature for her age, and the fact that she knew she was being selfish supported that notion. She knew Clint deserved his own chance at happiness and true love, but that couldn't stop her heart from aching with jealousy and contempt.

Finally, there was a knock on her door, and she didn't move as a voice soon followed. "Munchkin? I'm coming in now."

Tony waited a few seconds for a reply, and when there was none, he took it as an invitation to come in. After entering, he gently closed the door and sat on the foot of her bed. "Hey." He awkwardly greeted.

"Hi." She weakly replied, not taking her eyes off of the small silver charm in her hands.

"So," he began after a pause, "wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She tried.

"Really. I find that hard to believe."

"Really."

"If nothing was wrong, you would be out there playing video games or watching movies and trying to convince me why you should be allowed to stay up until Uncle Clint returns." He commented. "Speaking of him, he's really worried."

"Why should he care? He's on a _date_." She said the second sentence in a mocking tone, adding extra emphasis on the word "date."

"Why are you upset with him being on a date?"

"I'm not."

Tony ran a hand over his face stressfully. This was like pulling teeth.

"Alright, look, kid. I know that I'm the worst person to be giving you a pep talk and trying to comfort you and all that jazz, but work with me here. All I've gathered from this is that you are upset about Uncle Clint going on a date. I want to know _why_."

Maggie's eyes met his for the first time since he entered the room, and he internally considered it a small victory. She gave him a curious look. "Why does it matter?"

"It matters because it's obviously making you upset. And I don't like seeing my favorite niece upset." He tried playing the card that usually got a laugh out of her as he scooted closer.

"I'm your only niece." She mumbled halfheartedly, sounding almost irritated, in reply. She then turned back to her necklace.

_Wow, that felt like being slapped in the face._ Tony blinked, trying to figure out what to say next.

"Besides, it's stupid, anyway." Maggie added a few seconds later, shifting so she was lying down on her back. She gently laid the arrow charm back down on her chest.

"I doubt that. Please, Maggie, I'm begging you now." Tony pleaded, leaning closer so he could make eye contact again. "It's not good to keep emotions to yourself."

No response. He knew he was going to have to tackle this another way, possibly a more offensive way.

"So, you're upset about him going on a date. Is it because you think he should stay single forever?"

"No."

"Do you want him to move somewhere by himself and suffer being alone for the rest of his life because he did something bad?"

"No!"

"Do you think he should date your mom?" He tried not to sound like he was teasing.

"Ew, no!" She looked grossed out.

"Or maybe it's that he should dedicate his life to his job and spend way more time away from all of us and go on even more dangerous missions without having to worry about a girlfriend-"

"I don't want him to replace me!" The fourth-grader cut Tony off angrily, sitting up quickly. She breathed for a few seconds, realizing her outburst and then pulled her knees into her chest tightly. He interpreted this as her trying to shut him out, and he knew he had to act fast.

"What do you mean?" He inquired gently.

"I just… It's stupid…" She repeated, laying her head down on top of her kneecaps with a sigh. "He's been my best friend for… _Forever_, for as long as I can remember, and if he gets girlfriend, I won't be his favorite anymore. He'll love and spend time with someone else more than me."

Tony wasn't surprised this was what had set her off. Clint had told Maggie a few times over the years that she was his favorite girl, the one he would always be closest with and would treasure the most. He had adored her from the moment he first held her, and took his title as godfather very seriously, always ensuring she would be safe and have the best time. The adoration soon became mutual, and even in her earliest days Maggie would instinctively reach out for the archer and loved spending time with him more than anyone else. Not that she didn't love the rest of her extended family, but she and Clint had a deep bond that she didn't have with anyone else.

Natasha Romanoff had teased Clint, saying he was good at connecting with redheads and managing to befriend them swiftly. In reply, he joked that perhaps the spy's red hair gene came packaged with a natural close relationship with him, meaning Maggie was just bound to instantly be best friends with him.

Maggie's anxious feelings all made sense, really, and Tony knew he would have to diffuse the situation carefully. "Come here, squirt." He opened his arms up to her, and she scooted over to him. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, silently praying he was doing this 'parenting' thing right.

"Your feelings are not stupid, Maggie. They're normal, and I can understand where you're coming from. But I can assure you," he pulled away just enough to meet her eyes, "you occupy a very special place in Uncle Clint's heart. Even if he dates someone and falls in love with them, you will always mean the world to him. Just like, uh…" He figured kids understood things better with examples. "Like, your parents. They love each other very much, don't they?"

"Yeah."

"And they still love you so much. It isn't fair to compare the people you love, really…"

Maggie looked like she was starting to understand. "Just like how you and Aunt Pepper love me a lot, but you guys still love each other a lot?"

"Now you're getting it, squirt. Exactly."

"But, Uncle Tony," the redhead appeared upset again, "what if Uncle Clint gets married and has his own kids? He'll spend even more time with them and he'll stop being my best friend and be theirs!"

Tony knew this one would be a bit more challenging to tackle. "Well, what I said still stands; he'll still love you very much and you'll always have an extra special bond with him. Even if he has his own kids someday, he already loves you like one of his own. He will never replace you, Maggie. I promise."

Maggie blinked, and he could tell the gears in her head were turning as she was trying to grasp everything. "So, we can still be best friends, even if he gets married and has his own kids?"

"Of course! Trust me, munchkin, nothing you do or say could ever stop him from wanting to be _your_ best friend." He assured her with a warm smile, gently tapping her nose with his index finger to emphasize the word "your."

The redhead returned the smile, though it was small compared to her normal ones. But Tony knew a full recovery wouldn't be achieved until she had this conversation with Clint when he returned.

"Come on, now, squirt." He said, standing up."I challenge you to a round of Mario Kart. And I suppose we can _try_ to wait up for Uncle Clint's return…"

That got her attention, and she jumped off her bed eagerly. "Let's go!" She insisted, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room.

* * *

Clint returned to the tower just after 10:00 PM. He smiled as he was met by the sound of Maggie's laughter and Tony's exasperated comments insisting she was cheating.

"I'm not cheating, Uncle Tony! You're just really bad at this game." She giggled as she drove past him for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I think throwing turtle shells and bombs while driving is cheating, and most certainly illegal." He argued.

"They're _koopa_ shells, Uncle Tony. And bob-ombs." She informed him.

"You and all your gaming terms…" He grumbled to himself.

"Hey, guys. I see you both had fun." Clint laughed as he walked over to them. "Though, I'm surprised there are no Disney movies playing on the TV."

Maggie looked up at him happily, pausing the game and jumping out of her seat to run over to him.

"Um, excuse me, I did not agree to pausing the game." Tony protested, but was ignored.

"Uncle Clint, I missed you!" She said as she hugged him tightly, and he looked down at her, thinking about how she was acting earlier.

"I missed you too, Mags." He replied, reaching down to pick her up and hold her in his arms. That didn't happen much anymore, since she was almost ten years old.

Tony put down his controller and stood up. "I'm gonna go get ready for bed. I'll give you two some time to catch up." He announced, shooting Clint a look that said it was important they talk. The archer nodded and Tony then left the room.

"So, how was your night?" Clint asked as he sat down on the couch with Maggie in his lap.

"It was good." She said vaguely.

"Oh, really? You seemed upset earlier. You wanna tell me what's going on?" He replied carefully.

He knew something was up when she immediately broke eye contact with him. He waited patiently for her to talk.

"I was afraid." She finally said sheepishly, still not looking up at him. "When you said you were going out on a date, I thought that meant that you wouldn't love me as much anymore, 'cause you would get a girlfriend and love her more than anyone. I thought I wouldn't be special anymore."

"No, no, _no_, Mags, that's not true at all." Clint's heart practically broke at the thought. "You will always be special to me, and I will always love you more than anything. Even if I do fall in love with someone, they won't replace you. I would never replace you."

Maggie sniffled, feeling her tears return. It was from a combination of guilt and embarrassment over her fear, as well as the fear itself. "I-I thought we couldn't be best friends anymore if you started your own family." She stuttered, biting her lip.

"Mags. Look at me." Clint said firmly, and she slowly obeyed. "I _promise_ you, no one will _ever_ take your place in my heart. No one. We will _always_ be best friends, and I will _always_ be there for you. You mean more than the world to me, and nothing will ever change that. I swear. Avenger's honor." He added lightly at the end.

"Cross your heart?" She asked quietly with a smile, and he chuckled, performing the requested action.

"Cross my heart." He swore, and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, tucking her head into the space between his neck and shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" She softly cried into his shirt, and he wrapped his arms around her torso tightly.

"It's okay, kid, it's gonna be okay." He gently soothed, rubbing her back with his hand. "I've got you."

After a few more minutes, she sniffled. "So, she's nice?" She asked without moving her head. "I don't really remember her."

"Oh, yeah, she's great. We work well together as a team on missions." He replied happily.

"So, she's not, like, an undercover HYDRA agent or something?" Worry was clear in Maggie's voice.

"I'm pretty sure she's not, but I'll be extra careful next time to make sure she isn't." He chuckled.

"Good." She stated firmly.

* * *

**A/N: **I've been trying so hard for, like, ever to capture Maggie and Clint's close relationship in a oneshot! This angsty thing was my latest idea. But basically they're super tight, as mentioned a lot in here: best friends. I kinda based it off Michelle and Uncle Jesse's relationship from _Full House_. So, I figured it would be natural that Mags would feel threatened by any other new 'special friend' in Clint's life, haha xP


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